Loving You
by chemicalria
Summary: Ichigo experiences life in a different view after he meets Toshirou. When his mother dies, his life turns upside down, but the promise he made with Toshirou leads him to a different path. This path will eventually shift into something that requires the two to walk together, hand-in-hand, into the future, crazy in love. AU IchiHitsu with other side pairings.
1. Hot Box

**Warning;** AU IchiHitsu. Yaoi. All that jazz. -_- If you want to read a story that had _your_ preference of shipping, find another story, because clearly it's not mine. There's no need to repeat again, to have it removed because the damage is done. Don't forget this is my first time writing a story, so I don't know how this thing goes. ¬_¬ This discourages other authors, nonetheless, myself, to continue because I'm writing for other people to read. I have no intentions of trickery, that's why I said it's an **IchiHitsu **fic.

* * *

He was at the highest floor of the building. Cars driving by, people walking by the sidewalk, and clouds passing as time went by. The busy buildings surrounded the building he was in, keeping his current location less special than it looked. With a hum, he shoved his left into his pocket, adjusted the tie wrapped around his collar, and removed his eye glasses to ruffle his orange hair back to its original, messy, look. The book that was held in his other free had been placed on the desk next to him.

The telecom on his table rang and he reached to answer it as he brushed his hair back.

"Kurosaki-kun, you have a visitor."

Ichigo Kurosaki opened his brown eyes and replied in a deep voice.

"Let them in."

* * *

"Onii-chan!"

"Ichi-nii!"

Yuzu and Karin Kurosaki, both age eleven, dashed towards their older brother with stretched smiles that almost reached their ears. Yuzu leaped into Ichigo's arms while Karin wrapped hers around Ichigo's waist, the well-built brother of theirs chuckled softly, hugging Yuzu with one hand and messing up Karin's in the other.

"You're never home!" Yuzu cried, playfully pulling her brother's hair.

"Sorry, Yuzu," Ichigo sighed. "Blame dad, alright? If he wasn't such a lazy-"

"-lazy shit. We know." Karin groaned. "He gives you all of his work, it's not fair. You can't be a normal teenager because of him!"

"It's okay though, as long as it helps you two in the future." Ichigo smiled, patting Karin. "I'll make sure I'll be home before your break comes up."

"Really?" Yuzu and Karin beamed happily at the same time.

Ichigo nodded. "That's why I'm rushing to finish this project that dad gave to me."

"What? A new one?" Yuzu blinked. "Why?"

Their older brother shrugged. "I really don't know why. He just wants a small clinic next to you guys' school." Ichigo raised a brow. "Why are you guys here anyway?"

"Yuzu has an event tonight and we wanted you to come." Karin grinned. "We took a taxi to get into the city."

"That's an hour drive!" Ichigo's eyes widened. "Why didn't you call me to get you a ride?"

Yuzu sat on the couch. "It's okay onii-chan. We've been working side jobs! _Don't_ tell dad, he'll get mad at us."

"Well I'll be," Ichigo was surprised, placing his hands on his hips. "When have you been working?"

"I work at a café!" Yuzu giggled. "Karin is helping out a senior in high school!"

"A senior?" Ichigo instigated. "Aren't you too young to have a boyfriend?"

Karin shook her head frantically. "He's _not_ my boyfriend! Ichi-nii, he's a senior but trust me he _looks_ like an elementary student. He said I'm good in soccer, so he'll pay me to train and condition his freshmen!"

Ichigo playfully rubbed his chin, walking back to his desk. "So you're in the denial stage huh… What's his name?"

Karin blushed. "I'M NOT IN DENIAL! I swear! And plus he's kind of mean to everyone else- his name?" she paused. "Toshirou Hitsugaya."

The man stared at his sisters blankly. "Never heard of him." Yuzu facepalmed.

"Toshirou lives close to your villa, actually…" Karin tilts her head. "He said he's coming to the event tonight."

"I really need to meet your boyfriend," Ichigo muttered, opening his laptop and starting to type.

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!"

"What are you doing?" Yuzu peaked over her brother's shoulders. Ichigo smiled.

"I'm doing my work early so I can take you guys home."

"No! We want to stay at your villa!" Yuzu pouted.

Ichigo stared at them with disbelief. "You guys just slept over last week!"

"Yeah but mom's back," Karin groaned. "You know how dad is when she's around."

"Oh man…" Ichigo scratched his head. "Okay, but just because you have a valid reason. You can't sleep over next time, you guys get tempted not to go to class."

"I can't skip class! I'm going to lose my job if Toshirou finds out about it!" Karin cried.

* * *

"Hitsugaya-taichou! We're done!"

Toshirou Hitsugaya sneezed through his hands and caught the ball with the tip of his shoe. He wiped the seat off his forehead and lifted his shirt to wipe his face, revealing his built abdomen and a couple of girls began to screech.

"Good work guys!" Toshirou cheered his team. "Karin will be back next week!"

"Osu!" and everyone helped each other out to clean up.

"Toshirou!" A busty woman called from afar. "Are you done with practice?"

The senior turned to face his best friend. "Matsumoto! Yeah, we just finished."

"Hinamori-chan called! She said don't forget about the event tonight!"

The white-haired captain tilted his head on the side. What's she talking about?

Rangiku Matsumoto put her hands on her hips and scolded the smaller one. "Don't you remember? One of the Kurosaki sisters will be there too!"

"Oh, right!" Toshiro clapped his hands together. "Karin's sister is one of Hinamori's students. What was her name again?"

"How the hell should I know? Now hurry up and get going!"

"What time does the event start?"

"In exactly three hours!"

"Fuck, seriously?" Toshirou grabbed the bag of soccer balls and ran towards the gym. "I have to get ready."

Rangiku watched her best friend run, she yelled. "Don't forget to drop off your application at Kuro Center!"

"I won't!"

* * *

Ichigo got out of the elevator with his sisters. A girl with long orange hair similar to his stood at the reception desk, conversing with the receptionist that worked there. She wore a suit, with black slacks and short black heels that lightened her skin even more. Her face brightened when she caught sight of the strawberry.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

The orange-headed male blinked. "Inoue!" He smiled. "I told you to just drop the –kun, come on. We're friends."

Orihime blushed, playing with her fingers. "I know that. But we're at work right now so I'll have to keep my formalities."

Ichigo chuckled. "Alright, fine, fair enough."

"And guess what?" She waved the file in her hand. "You got yourself a surgical assistant."

Ichigo was surprised. "Who is it?"

The woman handed the file to her boss' hands. "You can look over it later, but you have other business to attend to, ne?"

He nodded and took the file from her hands. "Thank you."

"He just left you know," Orihime pointed with her lips. "You might encounter him outside."

"It's a he?" Ichigo blinked.

"Yep, he's handsome though. White-hair, teal eyes… you think he's American?" Orihime wondered.

"Maybe," the receptionist sided. "He's _super_ handsome, but I don't date guys who are shorter than me."

"Short? White hair… teal eyes… It sounds like…" Karin blinked. "Hey… Ichi-nii… can I see that file?"

Ichigo handed the file to his sister, confused.

Karin looked through the resume, her eyes widened. _I was right!_

**Name: Toshirou Hitsugaya**

…_It really is Toshirou!_ Karin closed the folder and returned it to her brother with a grin. "I say you're gonna hire _him_ because you have a thing for shorties."

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched. "Karin, you little-" he just shoved the file into his briefcase and turned to the receptionist. "Can you get a cab for my sisters? I have to go pick up something."

The receptionist nodded. His sisters whined.

"We wanted to ride with you!"

"Yeah, come on Ichi-nii!"

Ichigo stuck out his tongue. "Too bad! I'll meet you at your school alright?"

The two girls let out a loud sigh. "Okay, but promise you'll meet us at school? You won't ditch like the last time?"

He made a mocking cry. "I didn't ditch! There was an emergency at the hospital!"

* * *

Toshirou walked out of Kuro Center with his phone open in his hand. He scrolled through the home screen, constantly refreshing his email app before closing it when it updated. He glanced at the time then shoved his phone back into his bag and blew on his hands, rubbing them together to cause friction and heat.

"I have two hours," Toshirou mumbled to himself. "What do I do now?"

He continued to walk by the building, about to reach the parking lot that seemed empty but by the time Toshirou took a step forward, a shiny black car suddenly appeared, it was only a matter of seconds before he got hit. The good thing was, Toshirou was abnormally and inhumanely fast, being able to dodge the possibility of the incident to become a hit and run. The car screeched, coming to a stop, and that set Toshirou off, especially since he was already in a bad mood for having nothing to do. He growled, turned to the head of the car and kicked the sidelights.

"Watch where you're fuckin' going, jerk!"

Ichigo came out of his car and approached the smaller one, "hey, are you alright? Sorry about that, I didn't see you-"

"Are rich mofos like you seriously _that _arrogant, you don't even look where you _drive_ carefully?" Toshirou argued.

_I don't have time for this_. Ichigo shook his head, "Look, I already said I'm sorry-"

"Sorry is not enough!" The white-haired boy barked. "What if you _did_ hit me? Sorry wouldn't have been able to fix it!"

Great, now Ichigo is dealing with someone with a short temper. "I really am sorry," and despite the sincerity in Ichigo's voice, Toshirou wouldn't buy it. "I can give you money-"

"_Money_?" Toshirou scoffed. "Wow! Rich _and _arrogant mofos!"

Ichigo was ready to hit him until he looked over the boy's bleeding knee. _Oh fuck_. "Uh-… do you want to come inside the building so I can get you a band aid?"

Toshirou didn't know what he was talking about until he looked down as well. "It's just a scrape from your car, it's nothing."

_How do I make up for this_? "Are you heading out somewhere around the city? I can offer you a ride."

"It's fine," Toshirou shrugged, feeling his anger surprisingly fading away. "I don't like riding with snots like you anyway."

"Why you-" the strawberry clenched his fists. "You _kicked_ my car, be grateful I'm not making you do anything!"

"_Grateful_? You're the ungrateful bastard," the whitehead kicked Ichigo's leg. "If I had a physical injury worse than this, I'm going to fucking sue you!"

"You can't fucking sue me because you don't _want _my help. You can't even accept a fucking apology."

Toshirou's eyes widened then narrowed, _why this bitch-_ but the strawberry closed his eyes, letting the anger and negativity drain out of him before he raised a hand to stop the younger one from making any further comebacks. Ichigo bit his lip, took out his wallet, and gave his card to Toshirou.

"What's this?"

"My card, obviously." Ichigo went on. "…I really don't have time for this. So when you come up with something, let me know and I'm really sorry."

Ichigo went back to his car and drove away. Toshirou watched as the car passed him and glared, crumpling the card and throwing it on the ground.

"I fucking hate people." He muttered.

* * *

"…Fucking bastard acts like he can just _hand_ me his fucking calling card and expects ME to _fucking_ contact him. Do I look like I can be pleased like that?"

"Now, now, Toshirou, you're normally composed. Why are you throwing such a hissy fit?"

Toshirou facepalmed himself then slammed the table. "Matsumoto! Were you _not_ listening? I just said he _hit_ me, he fucking hit me!"

Rangiku raised a brow. "No, _you_ said you _dodged_ the car. He _almost_ hit you but he _didn't_ and yet he's still _apologizing_, and wants to _make it_ up to you some other day."

This was helpless. Toshirou threw himself back at the chair he's sitting on and took a sip of his soda. Rangiku thought of changing the subject.

"So how was your application?"

Teal eyes blinked, "The director's secretary was the one I met up with at the receptionist's counter. Said he's attending a family event and he'll be back by tomorrow… but she took my file and said she'll give it to him tonight."

"That's good!" Rangiku grinned. "You really need the experience! What if the director was some hot guy?"

"Hah?" Toshirou looked at her with disbelief. "You think I'm going to work to check out _guys_?"

"No!" She fanned her hands up and down. "But you'll find your prince charming~"

"Shut up, Matsumoto."

"The great Toshirou Hitsugaya, together with the Director of Karakura General Hospital. That'll be a scoop ain't it?"

"Matsumoto!"

"…but everyone would be shocked that the handsome Hitsugaya is _gay_! I'd have to protect you of course!"

Toshirou sighed exasperatedly. "Why do I put up with you?

Rangiku proudly patted her breasts. "Because _I'm_ your best friend. Eat up! We'll head to Hinamori's event soon."

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Yuzu!"

"Onii-chan!"

Ichigo entered his sisters' school gates with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Yuzu's favorite was pink carnation flowers, so he called the flower shop to customize a bouquet with sunflowers and carnations. It was a strange combination, but if his sister likes it, he didn't care. Yuzu wore a red kimono with pink Sakura blossoms on the bottom and a grey obi (sash) that was neatly tied to her back. She held the two fans in one hand, and the bouquet that her brother handed her with the other, incredibly happy that her family will be there to watch her performance.

"Dad is at the front of the audience with mom, onii-chan." Yuzu instructed, pointing at the pathway that led to the auditorium.

"Alrighty, thanks." He kissed her forehead. "Goodluck, I'll be recording your performance!" Ichigo waved his cellphone.

"That's fine! Just don't show it to your subordinates!"

Ichigo laughed softly. "Of course not, it's for my personal use… by the way, where's Karin?"

Yuzu blinked and pointed towards the gate. "She said she has to wait for Hitsugaya-senpai so she could take him to Hinamori-sensei."

"Her boyfriend is coming?"

Yuzu slapped her brother's arm playfully. "He's not her boyfriend! She likes someone else!"

"EH?" Ichigo took a couple of steps back. "You guys can't get a boyfriend yet! I say _no_!"

"Mom said we're not getting any younger, you know."

Ichigo cringed. "You're _11_ for goodness sake! I don't know what kind of parents we got!"

"Amazing ones," Yuzu giggled playfully.

"Yuzu, they're calling you to the stage!"

"I know," Yuzu yelled and proudly patted her shoulder with a fan. "I'll see you guys later!"

The strawberry waved. "Good luck!"

Yuzu happily waved at her brother as she headed towards the back of the auditorium with the rest of the performers.

* * *

During Yuzu's fan dancing performance, Ichigo, Karin and their parents watched in awe, especially the strawberry that held his camera phone up to record his sister. Toshirou sat a couple of rows down with Rangiku, the bitch fit he had with the incident has gone away, completely focusing his interest with the program on his hands, his turquoise eyes glowing with happiness. Rangiku noticed the sudden mood change and nudged her best friend by the ribs. The white-haired boy snapped out of his focus,

"What?" he asked, staring at her.

"Finally happy?" Rangiku affirmed, "You were throwing a really bad bitch fit at the gate. Karin-chan and I thought you were a goner."

Toshirou huffed, turning back to the dancers. "Well she did say she was related to the guy who hit me so she'll make sure to make him compensate for his absence."

The woman brushed her golden hair, resuming back to the dance, but then jumped up when she heard the boy's voice in a suspicious tone.

"…So where were you for the hour I was gone?"

"…I was out," she replied, laughing nervously. "to… grab a drink?"

"Matsumoto…"

"I feel like I got drugged though…" but Rangiku shrugged it off. "It's not kicking in… Oh well!"

"You mean to say you went out for a drink with _someone_ who probably put something on your drink?"

She forced out a smile.

Toshirou rolled his eyes. "_You're amazing_." He said sarcastically.

"I'll be fine!" She flexed out nonexistent muscles. "I really am amazing you know?"

Then, they watched the rest of the performance in peace.

* * *

The audience got out of their seats; some to greet the performers and their teachers while the rest walked out to meet them near the entrance to congratulate them and provide them gifts and necklaces. Ichigo looked at his watched and smiled, he has enough time to look over the file Orihime handed out to him this afternoon. He turned to his parents when they got to him.

"Are you coming home with us?" His mother asked, his father shook his head with one hand wrapped around her shoulder

"Ichigo barely comes home," his father replied for him.

His mother blinked, "Ara ma… Daddy's been putting you to lots of work hasn't he?"

Ichigo nodded, "You bet. But it's okay… as long as I could be of some help."

"That's my Ichigo!" His father tried to jump on his brother.

Masaki tried to stop her husband, "Isshin! Don't be such a child-"

With a grin, Ichigo jumped and spun kicked his father on the face, which sent him flying across the other side of the walkway. His mother gasped, but laughed in the sight of her husband landing upside down against the root of the tree. She felt like her family hasn't changed much. Isshin got up on his feet and cried on his wife, whining and tugging on the edge of her cardigan.

"Masaki! You've been missing out on so much!" Isshin said in between his sobs. "Your son has become so cruel, I wish your next shooting is here so you could save me!"

Masaki laughed softly, patting her husband's head to soothe him from crying. "Actually, my next shooting is in America."

Ichigo clapped in pure joy, giving his mother a hug to congratulate her while Isshin cried some more. "Take us with you if you can."

His mother nodded, "I'll let you guys know when my director lets me. I miss my precious princesses and you of course, my only prince." She looked saddened but spoke, "Are you really not coming home? I'm here for a month so stop by alright? I know you're not _that_ busy."

"I will," Ichigo pointed at his dad. "Unless he gets lazy and gives me a bunch of paperwork again."

"What? Your dad said he's been working hard," Masaki blinked then her aura changed into something sinister. "Isshin Kurosaki…"

Isshin screeched.

"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'LL MAKE IT UP TO YOU HONEY!"

* * *

Toshirou groaned, carrying his best friend's limp and drunken body over his shoulders. Rangiku tried her hardest to walk normally, talking to Toshirou about anything as they walked down the street.

"I'm glad you're out of that house," Rangiku started to breathe heavily. "I never liked your dad."

"Neither have I," Toshirou agreed. "And by the way, Matsumoto, where is your car?"

"I think it's still back at the place where I drank…" Rangiku thought. "Near the Kuro Center."

"What the fuck, that's so far. No wonder you asked me to pay for everything." Toshirou thought about this for a while. He paused then spoke again. "And where the fuck is your purse?"

The young woman laughed it off. "Probably back at the place."

"Matsumoto!"

"I know, gosh, let's go, when does the last bus come?"

Toshirou opened his phone. "…Till midnight. Let's catch the bus that comes in four minutes."

"Okay," Rangiku hugged the little figure, squishing him on her chest. "You're the best friend ever!"

Toshirou slapped her butt. Rangiku whined.

"Stop your whining!" Toshirou barked. "It's your fault for being irresponsible!"

"But you're there to help me out during times like this!" She waved.

Toshirou rolled his eyes.

"What are you ever gonna do without me, Matsumoto?"

* * *

During the bus ride, Rangiku fell asleep on Toshirou. He was sitting next to the window, and Rangiku sat next to him, her head hung against his white hair, sleeping soundlessly like there was no problem at all. Toshirou just looked out in the dark, watching as they passed by streets, and certain bus stops, never coming to realize that there was a strange man in a hoodie, white hair, and red eyes, that walked into their bus stop with a gun in his jacket pockets.

By the time he knew it, there was some arguing with the bus driver. Rangiku stirred awake with all of the noise, catching not only her attention, but the other passengers as well. Toshirou was beginning to feel uneasy so he reached out to his best friend and attempted to tell her that it's better to get off the bus to avoid any problems, but Rangiku shook her head. It's not right to escape while everyone suffers, that's how she was raised. The arguing worsened, the man grew agitated, and he brought out his gun, pointed to the driver's head and pulled the trigger. Some people started to scream and the man began to steer the wheel indirectly, with the dead body on top of it.

"Who's next?" The man pointed at the rest of the passengers. Everyone ducked from their seats.

Toshirou and Rangiku exchanged glances, gave each other a nod before an old man tried to approach the agitated driving man. Rangiku bit her lip, tried to call him out by running towards him, but a lady grabbed her by the leg and told her to stay down before anything happens to her. It was too late, she looked up, and the old man lay on the cold hard floor, blood spilling out of his chest. Dead.

Rangiku wanted to become a police officer; maybe this could be one of _those_ experiences. She bended down to hold the woman's hand to give her comfort and said a couple of comforting words that would keep her strong including her son that was whimpering beside her.

"Don't worry," she said with a small smile. "I'll be alright, it shouldn't be that bad."

His teal eyes widened as Rangiku approached the suspicious man. She raised both of her hands in the air because he pointed a gun towards her.

"Calm down, I'm not going to do anything."

"What the fuck do you want?" The man was panicking while he steered the wheel in frustration.

"Let me drive," Rangiku said softly. "You can tell me where you want to go, and I will take you there."

Toshirou gasped and stood up from his seat. "MATSUMOTO!"

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" The man screamed. "You move, the girl dies. Sit the fuck back down!"

The small man gave a big nervous gulped, sitting back down and prayed to the heavens above to keep his best friend safe. The rest of the passengers were afraid, and there was nothing more Toshirou could do than to put all of his trust in Matsumoto who showed no signs of fear. She was strong, and had a small smile plastered on her face and mouthed, '_I'll protect you, _Toshi.'

_No,_ Toshirou cried deep inside. _Kami, please don't do this _(AN: Kami means God). He doesn't want to lose another important person in his life.

* * *

Ichigo came back to the center around 10pm, silently walking into the elevator, to the twentieth floor, then to his office that was connected to another room. The sounds of his shoes clicking were the only ones accompanying him. When he walked inside, he yawned, loosening his tie and removing it completely from his neck and throwing it on the sofa, following the removal of his blazer and unbuttoning the first top three ascending from the top his collar. It was great, the feeling without the suit. Ichigo wished he could go to school normally like his little sisters, but because he was the only man in his family other than his father, he had to take action early and now he's working as a surgeon and a co-director of his father's hospital. It's alright though, work keeps him distracted from overthinking things, so he doesn't have time to complain.

_A little television wouldn't hurt_, Ichigo admitted, walking to his secret room. It was a small bedroom, but this was where he stayed whenever he couldn't go back home or return to the villa.

He stared at the file that he placed next to his lampshade.

"I'll look at it briefly." He muttered to himself as he turned on his TV and opening the file.

He glanced at the minor details of the person's resume.

Name: Toshirou Hitsugaya  
School: Karakura High School  
Current Grade: 12

"_..There are several cars involved in the incident with happened at 9:44pm. Mizuiro, what's going on there?" A voice from the TV started._

"_Yes, there are five cars that crashed one after another. It all started with bus route 49; apparently there was a man with a gun and killed the driver and one other passenger."_

"_Are there any other people who were affected?"_

"_There are 12 people injured from the collision and the one passenger from the bus is in a critical stage. The driver and an old man were pronounced dead when they caught the man."_

Ichigo's eyes widened, dropping the file on top of his bed, and walked out of his room. In that instant, his phone rang.

"ICHIGO!" It was his dad.

"I know." He growled. Changing into his blue scrubs. "I'm coming."

"_Sounds like Karakura General Hospital will be busy tonight. We are sending our condolences to the families who lost their loved ones."_

* * *

It was busy as fuck. Not only was Ichigo tired from the paperwork he had this morning, he was also frustrated from the man he almost hit, and he had to worry about the surgical assistant that he's going to interview tomorrow. Despite how long his day has been, he put himself together to help save the lives of drivers and passengers who got hurt. The strawberry ran down the hospital wing, into the emergency room, and nurses and doctors ran from one place to another with different materials in their hands, trying to support and aid the patients.

"Keigo, put this child on IV!"

"Yes sir!"

"This man isn't breathing, Ishida-sensei! He's under cardiac arrest!"

"Quick! Chad, hand me the defibrillator and set it to 60!"

"Yes doc!"

"Clear!"

"Give me 50!"

"Clear!"

He then proceeded to the numbers of operational rooms. A couple of families waited outside, clinging on to each other and sobbing, and Ichigo painfully looked away.

"Ichigo!"

Ichigo turned to see where the voice came from and his dad comes out of the room, removing the mask from his face and wiped the sweat around his neck. The man groaned and scratched his head.

"The passengers from the bus are okay, but drivers involved in the collision aren't in good conditions. The driver of the bus was a woman, she was strangled apparently, but one of the passengers was her best friend. He came to save her but man fired the gun and gashed her. We're removed the bullet just above her hipbone area."

"We?" Ichigo was surprised. "Who helped you?"

Isshin frowned, uneasy. "Well-"

A small man came out of the operation room, despite his black polo, there were blood stains on the side and dried ones on his left cheek. His teal eyes were dull, exhausted, and Ichigo could tell by the way the guy was walking weakly, that he's about to pass out any moment. "Kurosaki-san… She's okay now…"

It was Toshirou, who came out of the operation room, who helped Isshin, who tried his bestest to save his best friend's life, who Ichigo almost hit. He couldn't forget the light in the figure's turquoise eyes on their first meeting. He would never forget them. The moment Toshirou appeared once more, everything clicked. The strawberry ran after the limping boy and caught him just in time before he dropped to the ground.

"Hey!" Toshirou's eyes shut heavily. Ichigo carried him into his arms. "Fuck! Mind explaining to me _who_ helped you?"

Isshin was quiet. "I was a little uneasy about letting him come in to help… but we lacked a few staff members and you were on the way… he said he knew what to do because he's done it before. So I let him."

"But, but, but. Old man, you're going to get in trouble for this, you know that right?"

"I know," the man nodded. "But I know you'll let me go on this one. He's supposedly the one who applied as your surgical assistant."

Ichigo's eyes slightly widened as the boy in his weakened state curled up against his chest.

"Toshirou… Hitsugaya?"

"That's him," Isshin breathed. "Sounds like you're a lucky fellow, Ichigo. Take him to your place, there's no room for him here."

"Can't I just take him home?"

"Mmm, you can," his father thought. "But what the hell, he'll have to come see you for an interview _and_ he'd want to see his best friend. You can take care of him."

"Dad you can't just put someone as my responsibility."

"It's just a temporary thing, plus you might as well. He's going to be your assistant."

Ichigo wasn't the type to complain. Wearing his scrubs was pointless, but he didn't point that out. He carried the fragile body into his arms, picking him up and readying to get out of the hospital. He turned to his father once more. "Did you contact the woman's family?"

"Duh! What kind of doctor would I be if I didn't?"

The strawberry smiled slightly and walked out.

So many things happened today, but the biggest one that happened was Toshirou.

But what Ichigo didn't expect was that Toshirou would make the biggest change in his life… forever.

* * *

_AN:_ This is my first fic and I'm not in any medical profession so I tried to keep the details minor, that way I'm not leaving out anything or making things complicated enough as it is. Please bear in mind that this is an AU IchiHitsu fanfic, that being said, I'll accept any corrections or additions from anybody.


	2. The Talk Show

**Jixue**: thank you for your review. I hope you received my PM. I'm very appreciative.  
**Renezme Midnight**: Thank you for your review! ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ I will definitely keep that in mind and try to give more details!  
**ShiroStrawberry**: -bows- I've written a couple of stories, but this is the only one I managed to publish and I never check the grammar and spelling (I've gotten the habit of typing them out and just saving it the way it is, but I will try to fix that!) and I thought that Toshirou was a little bit OOC as well, so thank you for the insight! It really helped me think about how I want to develop Toshirou throughout the story.  
**Chapter Summary**: Revisit the night of the accident. Ichigo finds out more about Toshirou. Masaki visits an old friend.

* * *

'_I'll protect you Toshi. Don't worry.'_

"_Rangiku..."_

'_You move, the g__irl dies. Sit the fuck back down!'_

Toshirou remembered himself sitting down, staring at the woman his best friend just talked to a while ago. She looked back at him with tearful eyes while her son trembled in her arms. The woman opened her mouth, trying to tell him something softly so that the agitated man with the gun wouldn't catch their attention. He moved closer to the woman to interpret what she was trying to say. What? _save... her? _He got even more closer.

'Please watch over my son' she mouthed. 'I must save your friend.'

"What're you guys doing back there? No talking!"

The mother kissed her son's forehead, her son whimpered and nodded while she dropped her things to the side of her child, standing up with both of her arms raised and defenseless. While the man's focus was on Rangiku, Toshirou crawled over to the mother's son, rubbing his back while whispering words of encouragement about how brave his mother is. The mother slowly made her way closer to the man, who was talking to Rangiku about the location of where his destination was bound to be, not feeling her presence behind him. Toshirou thought the woman did very well, but for his best friend's part... not so much.

When the mother tried to grab the gun from his hand, the gun was shot, gashing Rangiku near her hipbone area. Rangiku's body dropped that instant, clutching on her now bleeding side, trying to gather the strength to continue driving. Toshirou growled, his fear disappearing that instant, and ran after the man, pouncing on him now that the woman, successfully taking the gun from his hands, distracted him. But everything happened so quick; Toshirou immediately instructed the mother to take after Rangiku's position to aid her in driving because she's bleeding, holding the man down to the floor with his arms together on his back thanks to Toshirou's brute force. There was groaning, some gasps, and the rest of the passengers finally came out of the hiding, but then there it was... screaming.

The mother was stabbed on her right leg but ignored the painfully burning sensation that was spreading through. She steered, telling Rangiku to hold on, that help was coming, reaching over the telephone line that all buses have and called emergency. Growing tired from the throbbing pain, Rangiku became dizzy from the amount of blood she was losing, dropping and completely losing control of the wheel and the woman couldn't do it on her own. The bus screeched, the passengers screamed some more and Toshirou looked up to see where they were headed. They passed over a red light, to the group of cars aligned in front of them, ready to get hit.

His eyes widened and felt his whole body lift then thrown to the front window due to the impact, knocking him out.

For however long it took, the emergency response team finally came to the rescue, putting Toshirou under an automated defibrillator. His eyes snapped open, found himself gasping desperately for air and searched for his best friend.

He stood up frantically. "I need to see her! I need to see Matsumoto!"

One of the technicians held him back.

"Sir, we need you to remain calm. You hit your head pretty hard so we'll need you to come with us to the hospital."

* * *

_In Karakura General Hospital..._

"Ichigo!" one of the surgeons barked on the phone. "We need you!"

Toshirou approached the surgeon. "Excuse me... A-Are you the one taking care of my best friend?"

The surgeon snapped his phone closed then looked down, giving a firm nod. "She lost a good amount of blood and we need to remove the bullet as soon as possible."

"Is she going to be alright?" The small one panicked. The surgeon smiled.

"Don't worry, she definitely will be. We'll start the operation soon."

"Soon?" Toshirou gasped. "Why not now? Why not now-"

The surgeon frowned, "I can start now... but I need to follow protocol and wait for my partner-"

"That's going to be a while right? _Please_ let me help."

The surgeon looked at Toshirou, unsure, "are you a medical professional? What is your name?"

He shook his head, but pleaded, "I'm Toshirou Hitsugaya; I applied as a surgical assistant this afternoon at Kuro Center. Please let me help, I've had experience before."

There was a light hesitation in the surgeon's dark eyes but he brushed his hair back, grabbed two masks and tossed them to Toshirou.

"I'm Isshin Kurosaki. Let's do this, Toshirou-kun."

* * *

Everything happened too fast that Toshirou was unable to comprehend the sequence of events that occurred. When Rangiku's bullet removal was achieved, Toshirou stared at Isshin, sweating in pure nervousness, not over Rangiku's state, but for Toshirou's own because what he had done was uncivilized. The man breathed heavily, gave Toshirou one last look and a pat before he motioned that it was time to head out of the operating room. He headed out first, took out his mask as he opened and left Toshirou in his own thoughts.

"Matsumoto..." Toshirou whispered, raising his hands to see them filled with her blood. He made a clench of his fists. "I was so useless... I'm so sorry."

And then an image of his mother on a hill flashed on his mind. She wore a long white dress that reached the green grass, an opened blue umbrella in her right hand; walking closer each time her dress flutters with the wind. Toshirou remembered her beautiful long silver hair and sea foam green eyes. His mother gave out a loving smile and extended her free left hand like she was calling out for him.

_Shiro, cheer up, darling. Everything will be alright; I'll always be with you._

Toshirou reached for the empty space, "hahaue..." (_Hahaue: _mother)

Toshirou felt his eyes give in, he needed to get out. He held his breath, promising himself that he'll wait with Isshin until everything turns out okay again. Toshirou walked over to the sink and washed his hands thoroughly, putting lots of soap so that the smell would go away. Once his hands dried up, he rubbed his eyes as he headed towards the door, his teal orbs turning dull and his vision blurry. He could barely recognize the man standing next to the surgeon, but he thought that the orange hair was a little familiar, but his brain was too fried to process.

"Kurosaki-san..." He croaked with a small smile. "She's okay now..."

Toshirou limped towards the two men, took another step forward, but his whole body became paralyzed, giving up. Toshirou got close enough to the sight of an orange-headed man before his vision turned black once more.

"Hey!' A voice cried out. "Fuck!"

\- _The Next Day -_

There was quite a chatter coming from another room and it painfully bothered Toshirou. His chest hurt, probably because of the position he was sleeping in. He could smell chlorine from a pool, and more chattering, starting to make him curious what it was all about. Sleepily, he opened one eye, scanning the room, and then both of his eyes opened when he sat up quickly, clutching at the blanket, which obviously did not belong to him.

The pajamas didn't belong to him either. They were almost twice his size because the ends of the sleeves were hanging from his hands and the joggers were baggy that he felt like a child. As a matter of fact, Toshirou stared at himself with the mirror located on his left, and he _did_ look like a child; with the outfit he wore, he could be mistaken for an elementary student. A _handsome_ elementary student, he reminded himself with a _hmph_. But really, where was he? He gave the room another look; a desk facing a glass window, a large TV across the bed, a closet next to the mirror he was looking at, and a lamppost on the right. The light was on which meant someone took him into this room, and he slept here for the rest of the night. Toshirou looked down at the bed, it was _huge_! He could fit almost ten people on it, then he scoffed. _Rich people now a days…_

Toshirou's ears flicked when he heard footsteps approaching his room, he covered himself with the blanket as though he was naked. His white hair was a bloody mess, but his body was surprisingly clean… there was no smell of blood, or Matsumoto! He started to worry about his best friend, but his eyes never moved away from the door. He eagerly waited, staring at the door that he expects will open in 3…2…

An orange-haired man walked in with a file in his hands. He looked like a _hot mess_, his red long sleeve was unbuttoned, which revealed his beautiful, gorgeously built chest; Toshirou felt himself blush but he shook his head frantically. Then something clicked when he looked the man's hair again.

Toshirou's eyes widened and said "Hey!" then pointed. "You're the guy that _almost_ hit me!"

"Oh yeah..." the man spoke. "Sorry... I totally forgot that we had bad first impressions. I'm Ichigo," he introduced himself, walking closer. "Ichigo Kurosaki."

"K-Kurosaki?" Toshirou was bewildered. "Then you're Kurosaki-san's..."

"Yeah, Isshin Kurosaki's son." Ichigo sat at the edge of the bed. "I'm excited to work with you in the future."

Now Toshirou was confused. "Sorry, but... _what_?"

Ichigo stared at him, closed his brown eyes, chucked the folder into Toshirou's hands and watched him open it. This was his application!

Toshirou looked back at him "S-So you're..."

"The Director of Karakura General Hospital with Co-Director Uryu Ishida and my dad," Ichigo smiled. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright, Kurosaki-kun," Toshirou panicked, not wanting to say anything that would degrade whatever he wrote in his resume.

"I just wanted to know how you were doing, and please, call me Ichigo." Ichigo stared at him. "You went through some rough things last night."

"I can't call you Ichigo yet... maybe... maybe one day, Kurosaki."

Ichigo's face softened, reaching for Toshirou's hair and patting it. "Now, you're probably wondering: where's my best friend? How were the other passengers? Is the man dead? I'll answer your questions relatively, Toshirou. Just promise me you're not going to leave."

Toshirou stared blankly, _how'd he know that?_ Ichigo chuckled softly and nodded that he won't leave.

"First, Rangiku Matsumoto is okay," he then answered seriously, his facial expression completely shifting to professional mode. "We contacted her relatives last night- rather my dad did- and thanks to you for removing the bullet, she's alright. Her sister is on her way back from Tokyo, so she will visit tomorrow. Matsumoto-san's not going through anything serious and she should be out by next week, but if she's okay by tomorrow, we can discharge her and she can do her recovery all at home, so she doesn't have to pay for utilities."

"...Thank you," Toshirou shyly mumbled. "For saving my best friend.."

Ichigo shook his head, "I didn't save her. _You_ saved her. In a hospital, we don't just _aid_ patients; we try our best to_ save_ them."

Toshirou nodded quietly, admiring Ichigo's comforting words. He could almost feel himself blush. _Toshirou, stop it! Stop that! He's just being nice to you. He's going to be your boss for chrissake!_

"Second, the other patients... don't worry, they're all fine. I was actually discussing some paperwork with the financial aid counselor in my hospital to consider patients who has low income so we could help them with their medical bills." Ichigo smiled. "So they don't have to worry about paying, you know?"

Toshirou was touched then lightly teased. "Heh? So you'd rather consider patients who are under the low income portion but you wouldn't even hand _me_ money?"

"Excuse me, you didn't want the money!" Ichigo protested.

"I know... I was kidding."

"Since you have time to joke around, you must be feeling better. I'll reschedule your interview sometime this week, is that alright?"

Toshirou gave another small nod.

"Good. You'll be a definite hire though, so I'll say this now; outside work, we're friends. Kurosaki-san or –kun, or –sensei... That's what you call my _dad_. Kurosaki is a nice start."

A small smile crept up Toshirou's lips. Ichigo seemed mighty friendly, giving Toshirou peace in his mind. Ichigo ruffled Toshirou's white tuft some more and stopped by the door to turn at an absent minded Toshirou.

"Let's eat breakfast, I made us something to eat."

"Okay," getting off the bed, Toshirou's voice came up again, "Kurosaki?"

"Hm?"

"Why am I here anyway?" Toshirou innocently wondered. "I mean, at your place; shouldn't I be in the hospital?"

The man shrugged, "my dad was being dumb and said to take you home with me. It was better that way anyway, I would have confined you to another hospital, we were full."

"Oh..." Toshirou said softly. "And my clothes?"

"All dried up and clean," Ichigo answered. "Helped myself with getting you out of your bloody clothes-"

There was a gasp then a deep upset voice, "You saw me naked?"

"-So that I could clean you up... Don't worry I didn't touch you," Ichigo grimaced. "I'd ask for permission if I did. Now let's go."

Toshirou looked troubled, "That doesn't change the fact that you saw me naked..." He started. "And since I'm calling you _Kurosaki_..."

Ichigo waited patiently.

Then it was silent. The strawberry tilted his head, "what is it, Toshirou?"

"It's _Hitsugaya_ to you."

* * *

During breakfast, the two boys ate in silence. Ichigo had a laptop on the side of his meal, typing out things that Toshirou probably assumes deals while sipping on a cup of coffee every now and then. Toshirou ate the pot-au-feu that Ichigo made for the both of them, hiding how much he was impressed with how well the carrot top made a French recipe. Ichigo looked up at the boy, and gave him a smile, making Toshirou flinch then shyly looked away.

"How's the food?" he asked.

"I-It's good..." Toshirou grumbled, taking a spoonful and shoving it in his mouth so that he doesn't say anything more.

"My mom taught me how to make it," Ichigo explained. "Before she became busy, she taught me how to make several recipes so I could cook for my sisters."

Toshirou smiled genuinely. "That's kind of your mom... Makes me think of when my mother-"

He cut off his sentence when he realized he was bringing up the past. Toshirou went back to eating, but he knew what was coming up next. He knew what he already started. Ichigo opened his mouth,

"...Makes you think when your mother_..._?" He took a sip of his coffee, "cooked for you?"

Hesitantly, Toshirou made a small nod, reaching for the orange juice and took a sip to get rid of the awkwardness. His throat has suddenly gone dry because the word _mother_ couldn't escape his mouth the second time, not in front of Ichigo. Bringing up the past was something he wasn't prepared to talk about at first time friends. Even though Ichigo was different, and felt like Ichigo wasn't trying to pry into his story, he just wasn't ready. But then he thought of his dad; Toshirou chugged the juice empty.

"Thank you, Kurosaki, for the meal," Toshirou wiped his mouth.

Ichigo noticed that the smaller one avoided the subject so he gave a helpless smile and went back to eating his food. "No problem. I'm heading to the hospital to talk to one of the doctors, shall we go together?"

"Sure..."

"Great, your clothes are already in the bathroom, inside my bedroom." Ichigo instructed. "Help yourself and take a shower."

"Okay," Toshirou stood up then approached Ichigo with his head hung low.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, blinking.

"...You."

Again, Ichigo tilted his head. "What?"

Toshirou yelled, "thank you so much!" then ran towards the second floor where Ichigo's room was.

The strawberry stared at the spot where the small one was standing at, completely surprised by the sudden blurt, and laughed softly.

* * *

In the middle of wiping the now washed dishes, Ichigo's phone began to ring. The carrot-top reached for his device over the counter, looked at who it was then rolled his eyes before answering.

"Yo, Rukia."

'_Ichigo!_' A deep yet womanly voice sprang up on the line. '_When are you sleeping over? We're best friends but we haven't seen each other in like... 10 days!_'

His eyes darted to the side, wiping a plate. "I've been busy with work, and I don't think Byakuya would let me sleep over after getting involved with the trouble you had with your last client."

Rukia laughed. '_He just said that because he thought you had a thing for me, but don't worry, I said you liked guys so he felt better!'_

"I can't believe you actually told him that I'm gay." He facepalmed. "It's so difficult, being friends with the daughter of a yakuza- oops, I mean _nobility_." Ichigo replied, rolling his eyes some more.

'_Don't be such a donkey!_'

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo stacked the plates neatly then walked over the closet. "Don't forget to ask Byakuya about my request."

'_I won't! Oh and I heard Masaki-san is back?'_

"Yeah, she came back yesterday."

'_Isshin-san said she's going to be on a talk show this afternoon, to talk about Shira.'_

"Oh yeah, her best friend that died right?"

The two got quiet for a moment, but Rukia sprang back up to speak. _'Yeah... It's so sad... They still haven't found her son yet...'_

Ichigo smiled sadly. "We'll find him, if it's meant to be, we'll find him."

* * *

Masaki walked inside a temple with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. To avoid attention, she wore a simple outfit: a lengthy blue skirt, a long-sleeved cream blouse, and a purple scarf wrapped around her head with black glasses to cover her face. She walked further inside, stopping once she reached a monument; placed the flowers, lit up incense, and sat down. She faced her beloved friend who passed away, sighing and staring at the stone and finally removing her glasses.

Pressing over the engraved name, "Shirayumi... It's been eight years and I still haven't found him..."

The woman's eyes started to water but she covered her mouth and whimpered silently.

"But I won't give up; I will find your son, even if it costs my life. God... I'm so sorry I couldn't save you from him."

She suddenly chuckled to herself, wiping her eyes. "If you were here, you'd be mad at me because I still think it's my fault right. Please understand, Isshin and I were your only friends and we couldn't even do anything."

Then she continued, "Shira, if you know where your son is... show me. Guide me to him, please. I will take him in as my family, take care of him for you. My children... my precious children would welcome him with loving arms. So please... don't worry."

Masaki pressed her hands on the engraved name once more. Her trembling fingers traced the letters, sobbing to herself; she needs to pull herself together. The talk show will start in an hour.

"It's time for me to go... but I'll come back to visit with my kids, alright? I love you."

The mother took out the locket wrapped around her neck and opened it. One side was a picture of her and her family, and the right side was a picture of her friend and her son.

The engraved name said: _Shirayumi Hitsugaya_

* * *

"Toshirou! Where were you? I was so lonely!" Rangiku sat up from her bed, looking lively as ever. "Did you get my things?"

Toshirou gaped, playfully slapping his best friend by her head, "You have time to worry about your car and purse but not yourself? You're such an idiot!"

The patient whined, "Eeeeeh but there's nothing wrong with me! Kurosaki-sensei said I was fine and that you helped him!"

"He told you?!"

"Yeah," Rangiku smiled, pulling Toshirou into a small hug. "Thank you for everything!"

He returned the hug and sat beside Rangiku, placing his hand on top of her. She looked evidently happy, despite the gauzes wrapped around her head and the three IV's attached to her. Rangiku also noticed that Toshirou was eyeing out her hips to see how her staples were doing. Her face softened, laughing to herself mentally because she knew that her best friend would try his hardest not to ask too many questions because that was how she was raised. "I'm fine," she reassured him, "and I'm really sorry for making you worry."

"I couldn't do anything back there," Toshirou mumbled. "You made me look helpless..."

Rangiku blinked, "the police said you and some other woman came to the rescue. How is that helpless?"

"...Because I was really scared," he admitted. "I was scared to lose you. To lose another person I care about."

"You wouldn't lose me over something small like that! I won't let that happen. So did you call Hyourinmaru? He must have been worried."

"Mmm... He's better now that I told him what happened. I told him to find your car and purse."

"Wow, he really _does_ obey you without any complaints," Rangiku pouted. "I wish I had a servant like that."

"Don't say he's a _servant_," Toshirou contorted. "I made him choose whether or not he wanted to stay with my dad, and he chose me."

"Alright, fine, sorry. I wish I had a _friend_ like that."

"You're mocking me."

"Am not!"

Toshirou rolled his eyes, "Hyourinmaru has been loyal to me ever since I was small... Even after my mom-" his face dropped.

"I know," Rangiku quickly replied to change the subject. "Don't you have an interview today?"

"Ah, that... Kurosaki moved it for another time."

"Kurosaki?" Rangiku raised a brow.

"Isshin Kurosaki's son, Ichigo." Toshirou sighed. "He's the Director."

"Ichigo Kurosaki..." she wondered. "_Oh_! Yes, orange head, brown eyes? His parents are the big talk in this town, his mom's an actress, his dad's a doctor, and his sisters are very talented as well. They're a blessed family, you know."

Toshirou scratched his head "I thought Isshin Kurosaki was the Director?"

"He was! Then he passed it down to Ichigo. Ichigo's intelligent, you know; graduated high school and college by the age of 22. Amazing isn't it?"

"...Amazing indeed," as Toshirou found his mouth open and eyes widened.

"Look!" Rangiku pointed, raising the volume, "There's Ichigo's mom now!" Toshirou turned to the television.

"_Welcome to the Don Kanonji show! We have a special guest for today in remembrance of a dear friend Shira. Come on in, Masaki Kurosaki!"_

_The group of audiences began to clap as a woman enters the camera, waving with a smile on her face. Kanonji stood up, gave Masaki a hug before telling her to take a seat. When the two stars sat down, Kanonji started the conversation._

"_Masaki, welcome back to Japan!"_

_The woman sat across from Don Kanonji and with a smile on her face, she bowed, "Thank you Kanonji and thank you for having me in your show today. I know you don't usually do talk shows like this!"_

"_Oh, come on! We've been good friends for years! It's the last we could do for our good'ol friend right?_"

There was a knock on the door, catching the two friends' attention away from the TV. Ichigo appeared as the door opened, wearing a lab coat over his light blue collared sleeve, gray khakis, and a clipboard on one hand. Rangiku whistled, lowering the volume of the TV then began elbowing Toshirou.

Rangiku snickered, "Hey... Toshi, you scored a pretty hot man..."

"Matsumoto!" Toshirou hissed.

Kanonji was talking in the background, _"So how are you Masaki? How are you and your family?"_

"_They're fine, we've all been busy," Masaki replied with a smile. "How is your Ghost Bust coming along?"_

"_It's great!" Kanonji gawked. "I have amazing fans after all. Bwuahahaaha!"_

Ichigo gave out a grin, handing Rangiku the clipboard. "How are you doing? We need you to fill this out so we can open up a medical record for you, Rangiku-san."

"Just call me Rangiku!" She giggled. "You make me sound so old! And I'm doing fine~ So have you met Toshirou?"

"Yeah," Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck. "he actually slept at my house last night."

Toshirou flinched, "dummy! You didn't have to tell her that!"

_Masaki beamed, "Shira would have been happy to be part of your show, Kanonji-san. She always did have a thing for spirits."_

_Kanonji gave a small smile, "You, Shira, and I could have been the perfect trio indeed. I went to visit her grave last week actually."_

"_I went to visit this morning," Masaki said._

Rangiku cried, "I'm so jealous! You should invite me over sometime, Kurosaki-sensei!"

Ichigo sweatdropped. "Just call me Ichigo."

"Okay, okay, Ichigo~" She grabbed the rolling table and started to fill out the sheet. "Isn't that your mom in the show?"

The doctor looked up then back to the patient, "Yeah, it's her friend's death anniversary tomorrow."

Toshirou looked up at the television. "Me too..." he commented quietly. Rangiku rubbed his back.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Toshirou," Ichigo frowned.

He shook his head. "It's okay, and it's not a friend, Kurosaki. It's my mom. It's, uh, her... She... it's-"

Rangiku understood how uncomfortable Toshirou was, so she finished it for him. "It's his mom's death anniversary tomorrow too. The topic is still sensitive for him, as you can see."

The carrot-top watched the sad smile on his mother's face during the show and he couldn't help but smile painfully as well. His mother's friend has always been a sensitive topic for her as well, so he knew the feeling. Whenever the people his mom works with asks about his mother's friend, it would always look like she would cry, but she gave this very painful smile to everybody and it hurts Ichigo. Toshirou was the same, while Rangiku filled out the application; Ichigo reached out to the small figure and held him. His teal eyes widened in surprise that he was pulled into the doctor's chest. Ichigo had one arm wrapped around the small body; his other hand pressing Toshirou's head to his chest while Ichigo watched the television to cover up a romantic gesture.

"K-Kurosaki?" Toshirou stuttered, smelling Ichigo's scent; surprisingly of strawberries and coffee. Rangiku was giggling in the background.

"...I don't know exactly how you feel," Ichigo started, "and I'm sorry about it. You think we could really be friends this way?"

A vein popped on the boy's forehead and let out a muffled answer, "we _could_ be, if you stop harassing me and let me go."

"_Shira's son was three years old before she passed away," Masaki told Kanonji. "I've been searching for him because that's what she would've wanted."_

"Only if you promise me that you won't make a face like that again," Ichigo encouraged.

"He won't make a face like that if you _kiss_ him!" Rangiku waved her pen.

"Matsumoto shut it!" Toshirou grunted. "I can't make any promises, Kurosaki, but I will try."

Ichigo released him and smiled widely, "great!"

Toshirou scoffed, "you're ditzy."

"_Masaki, keep working hard. I know you'll find her son someday," Kanonji clapped her hands together with his._

_Masaki nodded happily, facing the audience. "If fate has it, we're bound to meet one day."_

"I rescheduled our interview by the way," Ichigo said, taking the clipboard that Rangiku handed to him. "I'll see you in two days?"

Toshirou nodded with a smile, "sounds good to me. See you then, Kurosaki."

"Your nurse will come in to ask if you're ready to leave, alright? She'll check up on your wound and it's totally fine if you decide to stay for one more day, I'd really recommend a week, but if Rangiku feels like she can go off on her own, that's fine too. The wound wasn't serious but get well soon Rangiku! See 'ya Toshirou!" the doctor waved and left the room.

Rangiku turned off the television, giving a blinking Toshirou a smirk. Toshirou sat back down to the chair in front of her, thinking about his mother then raised his brow when he heard his best friend snickering loudly. The boy stood up, walked up to his best friend and pinched her nose, "why do you sound like a pig?"

"Ohohoho, I think you really _did _score yourself a hottie~"

"MATSUMOTO!"

* * *

**AN**: Adding an OOC character because we don't know much about Toshirou's parents. Shirayumi is his mom, _Shira_ meaning white (more fit for a female) and _Shiro_ means the same thing. We'll know more about Hyourinmaru and Rukia in the next chapter and Toshirou's interview! I apologize if the last part seemed a little confusing with the whole talk show going on. I'd be more than happy to explain what happens if it was not comprehended.  
See you soon! ；▽；


	3. Falling In Love For The First Time

**Author's Note:** This isn't exactly how I pictured the third chapter. I know I meant to introduce Rukia and Hyourinmaru including the interview but it didn't happen. Things came out a little different during the middle of my writing, but they are included in the story. I didn't beta this either, so I'm sorry! –bows- **Jixue** thank you so much for your reply. This chapter's dedicated to you, friend!

* * *

No matter what Toshirou tried to advice Rangiku, she still insisted to go home. The demands of a woman are far too great to ignore once her mind has been made up, so he complied with his best friend's request and signed the discharge papers with her to leave the next day. Toshirou called Hyourinmaru to pick them up while Rangiku called her sister, Haineko, to tell her that she was leaving the hospital and that it was better to come over to Toshirou's house. The deed was done, the plan was set, and Hyourinmaru arrived to pick up the two of them.

Inside the car, Toshirou sat on the front seat while Rangiku sat on the back, groaning and complaining about how uncomfortable it was to have a bunch of staples on her hip. She talked about how inhumane it felt and wondered how it was possible for people to handle being stapled like they were a bunch of folder papers. Hyourinmaru respectfully replied that it was thanks to the anesthesia that people who had staples wouldn't feel such pain. Toshirou crossed his arms and sighed.

"Don't be stupid, Matsumoto. It's the easiest and fastest way for a wound or cuts to close, less lethal too," Toshirou explained.

"I just want it gone! The nurse said I have to wait for a week before I go back to the doctors to have these staples removed."

"Too bad, I told you, we could've stayed there for a little bit longer."

Rangiku huffed and crossed her arms, "the only reason why _you_ don't mind staying there longer is because _you_ want to see Ichigo."

Toshirou blushed, "I do not!"

Hyourinmaru raised his brow, "who is Ichigo, bocchama?" (_bocchama_: young master).

"I told you to stop calling me that," Toshirou growled quietly but answered, "Ichi-_no, _Kurosaki's just a friend, he works at the hospital, and-"

His best friend continued in a sing-song voice, "_And_ Toshirou's future boss, future boyfriend, future lover, future everything!"

"Shut up! And I'm going back to school today, I have loads of crap to finish."

"Mind doing _my_ load of crap as well Toshi?"

Toshirou grunted and refused with a solemn "No but I _am_ giving your doctor's note, so I can get your catch-up work from the teachers."

"Eeeeeh!?" Rangiku threw her body back in the back of the car and _hmphed._ "Kill joy!"

* * *

Ichigo was tired.

Mostly because his dad has been making him run errands for _his _things. Ichigo's main reason as to why he wanted to hire an assistant was so that he could balance his paperwork and work in the hospital. He was overthinking, and he knew that he had to take a break. Before he left the hospital, his dad asked if he could interview some guy for him the same day he was going to interview Toshirou. Will there ever come a time when he doesn't have to do all of this work and just become a normal guy? Probably not. It's never going to happen and that's why he'll never find anybody special.

Or so he thinks.

Ichigo finished all of his tasks as fast as he could because he felt lightheaded and dizzy and told Orihime that he's done for the rest of the day. He must be getting a cold, it doesn't usually get to him like that but lately he hasn't been getting enough sleep because he's been busy. But honestly, he liked being busy. It's just not catching up on sleep that's making him feel restless and tired, so he felt that something was different about today; he just wanted to sit back and relax. It's something he hasn't done in a while after all.

When he got home, he threw himself on the couch and pulled out his cellphone, there was only one person's voice he wanted to hear. Toshirou.

He decided to call him. _Hello, this is Hitsugaya._

"Toshirou!" Ichigo turned the wheel to the left.

_K- Kurosaki?_ The high tone in Toshirou's voice showed how surprised he was. _Did you dial my phone my accident? I'm in school you know._

"Sorry, am I bothering you?" Ichigo answered a little weakly. "I just.. Wanted to hear your voice."

_No... It's lunchtime for me so it's fine. Uh.. Are you okay?_

He smiled slightly, "I'm okay. Just tired."

_If you're tired then shouldn't you be resting?_

"Mm, yeah. But I thought.. Maybe you would make me feel better or something."

Toshirou chuckled on the other line and Ichigo felt a thump on his chest. The sound of Toshirou's voice was comforting for him and hearing his small laugh was twice as comforting. Okay, maybe that was a little too much, but it made him feel a whole lot better. It's been a minute since Ichigo said something, and Toshirou hasn't responded or said anything so he began to panic. He began to feel better when he heard Toshirou breathe in and spoke again:

_Okay, Kurosaki. I'm flattered, but I'm a little worried. Did something happen?_

Ichigo shook his head, "Nothing happened. Let's talk about something, anything."

There was a moment of silence between the two and Ichigo was expecting a rejection. Toshirou's answer wasn't quite what he expected.

_Kurosaki... I'll come over after class._

"Want me to pick you up?"

_No, it's fine, rest. Just text me your address and I'll call you when I get there._

Ichigo felt like he came back to life. "Okay, see you."

* * *

Toshirou immediately contacted Karin to take over practice after school when he finished talking to Ichigo on the phone. Karin was confused at first, but after Toshirou admitted that he was going over to Ichigo's house, Karin smiled slyly and told him to enjoy the rest of the day with her brother. He doesn't understand why Rangiku and Karin were being like that towards Ichigo; it must be some kind of girl thing. He shrugged it off.

And so after class, he opened his phone search for Ichigo's address on the GPS. Toshirou has only been there once so he doesn't necessarily remember the place, but he thought the place was familiar. It was _too _familiar because when he got on the road, he realized that Ichigo's house wasn't that far from his because he takes the same route home and back to school. The whitehead gaped in amusement when he stopped at the front of Ichigo's home (or rather, his sisters call it, a villa).

Toshirou called Ichigo the moment he arrived, "I'm outside."

Ichigo appeared at the front gate fast. His appearance was different from how Toshirou has seen him so far; Ichigo was just wearing some baggy shorts and a tee.., It was unusual, but Toshirou assumed that Ichigo isn't working with those clothes. Ichigo was grinning for a bit and Toshirou couldn't help the feeling of wanting to slap his face for that idiotic smile spread across his face was too much for Toshirou to take despite the slight shade of pink on Ichigo's cheeks and weary brown eyes. "I'm glad you came!"

"Yeah..." Toshirou mumbled. "But you look different... _and_ sick."

The man blinked and laughed, patting his shirt. "I don't dress like I'm going to work all the time you know."

Toshirou gave a small smile. "I like it, seeing you like this I mean and you should rest, Kurosaki. Really."

"Yeah? Well, you're the first one to see me like this besides my family. Let's go inside first, I feel cold."

Even though it was Toshirou's second time to be inside Ichigo's house- it still felt like it was his first time. The house felt bigger than the last; it was like his living room became three times larger than he thought it was and the kitchen where he ate breakfast with the man seemed further than the last time he walked to Ichigo's room after the meal. "Your house is _huge_."

Ichigo chuckled, "it really is huh? It's just me though."

Toshirou's eyes went wide, "seriously? Just you?"

"Well, you know, I have servants, but they don't exactly talk to me because they're scared."

"Oh... I'm sorry..."

Ichigo smiled, "don't worry about it."

At first, it was silent. Toshirou got nervous when the silence became deafening. He sat on the sofa across from Ichigo and Ichigo was quiet as well, and a little shy as he was trying to avoid Toshirou's gaze then looking at him when he wasn't staring back. The silence broke when Ichigo started to ask how school went and Toshirou smiled helplessly, knowing fully well that there really wasn't anything better to talk about. Toshirou responded anyway, saying that school was fine, caught up with work, and that Rangiku was recovering at his house with Hyourinmaru and her sister.

"Hyourinmaru?" Ichigo blinked.

Toshirou nodded and began explaining about who Hyourinmaru was. He found Hyourinmaru when he was three, not long before his mother passed away. Hyourinmaru protected him from his abusive father and when Toshirou decided to leave, Hyourinmaru made the decision to go along with him. Toshirou found Hyourinmaru's family a few years back, but he insisted that Toshirou was his only real family and he would do anything for Toshirou because he was taken in. Ichigo was touched with the story and Toshirou also mentioned that everybody looked down on Hyourinmaru because his family's whereabouts were unknown but Toshirou made a reassuring smile that he's Hyourinmaru's new family now, and that he could care less because he'll be there for him until the end of time.

"How about you, Kurosaki? What was your childhood like?" Toshirou asked genuinely.

"Uh.." Ichigo thought about what to say then sat back from the sofa. "There really wasn't much to my childhood. I was normal like everybody else, going to school, and meeting new friends... Not to mention getting into fights. My best friend is an adopted sister of some Yakuza, so that's why I got into them. Anyway, I used to get called "Mama's Boy" because I was always around my mom but even that had to change over time. You know how it is now, my parents are the real MVP's now.. Yuzu and Karin came along and I had to take responsibility for them when my parents are gone so I had to grow up faster than I thought I would. I don't mind it though, as long as I know I'm doing this for the sake of my family."

"You're lucky," Toshirou commented on Ichigo's brief childhood. "I wish... I could have spent more time with my mom or my family.. All I have is Hyourinmaru and Rangiku."

"Don't forget to include me-" Ichigo added with a smile, moving to the sofa closer to Toshirou as he took his hand. Toshirou raised a brow. "And Karin, and Yuzu, and my parents. I'm sure they'll love you when they meet you."

Ah. Ichigo was kind. "Thank you, Kurosaki."

"By the way, our interview tomorrow is at 12pm. At Olona Café."

Toshirou tilted his head. "Doesn't Yuzu work there?"

"Yeah," he replied. "She'll put it under my tab. You know, just in case you come in early and-"

Toshirou didn't mean to say it but he already blurted it out anyway, "why are you being nice to me, Kurosaki?'

Ichigo was caught by surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you being nice to me?" He repeated softly, looking at the palm of his own hands. "I know we're gonna work together in the future, you can look down on me and plus I kicked your car so I probably have a bad record on you-"

"Shh," Ichigo patted his head. "It didn't matter if you kicked my car. And isn't it obvious? I want to be your friend."

Toshirou had nothing to say, Ichigo took the privilege to continue.

"I think of what you told me, how you have Hyourinmaru and Rangiku, and I have all of these wonderful people in my life..." Ichigo started. "I want you to be a part of them, I want to be a part of the people you have. Whoever I know, you will know. I want us to be friends."

Friends. New friends. Toshirou thought about his mother and if he could be with her once more, maybe things would have been much more different. Maybe things would've been different if his dad didn't do terrible things... Toshirou bit his lip hard; he could taste the iron of his blood. His throat was going dry, but if Ichigo really wants to be friends with him, it's okay to say _it _right?

"Kurosaki, if we're going to be friends, I need you to know what kind of past I had."

Ichigo had a serious expression and Toshirou thought that if Ichigo turns away then he's not true but if not... He'll open up. _Mom..._ Toshirou opened his mouth once more:

"When I was." Toshirou gulped. "My mom died in front of me. She... She was shot on the leg, stabbed three times on the chest, and eight times on her back because she was p- protecting me."

Speechless, Ichigo stared at Toshirou tremble at the words that came out of his mouth. He was happy; happy that he knew something so personal but he didn't think it was _this_ personal. But he was filled of guilt and emptiness that he stood up and held Toshirou once more. Despite the weight of his body, he wanted Toshirou to feel the warmth of it. Toshirou relaxed against his body, slender yet strong arms wrapped around his waist and Toshirou leaned on his chest in silence. Ichigo felt like the boy needed comfort than anything. The romantic stuff can wait until later, right now; Ichigo knew then that what Toshirou needed a friend.

"Then it's _my _turn to protect you."

It was getting heated between the two of them. Toshirou breathed heavily.

"Kurosaki?"

"Hm?"

"You're hot."

Ichigo chuckled. "I get I'm attractive but you didn't have to tell me-"

Toshirou blushed; thank god Ichigo couldn't see it. "I meant hot like fever hot..."

"It's nothing, I'll just sleep it off and I'll be back to normal."

Toshirou laughed softly. "I should head on home then. I'll see you on the interview tomorrow."

The strawberry tightened his hug around Toshirou, and his blue-green eyes widened. "K-Kurosaki?"

"Do you have to go?" Ichigo mumbled. "Can't you sleep with me?"

"K- Kurosaki... Hey, Kurosaki! Oi!" Ichigo's body dropped on Toshirou's shoulders. Toshirou caught in right on time, falling back to catch his body then up over his shoulders. He supported the man with his arms then he looked around. Where were the servants? Shouldn't they be here to see if Ichigo was alright? Who takes care of him during times like this? Nobody? The white haired boy clicked his tongue then bit his lip; standing up straight Toshirou finally shifts Ichigo's body off his shoulders into a bridal style, carrying him to the second floor where his room was. He definitely had to stay back and sleep with Ichigo.

Toshirou placed the sleeping one to his bed once they reached his room. He covered Ichigo's body with blanket and walked towards the bathroom to get a bucket of water and a towel to damp it all over his feverish forehead. Toshirou was on Ichigo's left, his arm a little over the strawberry's head and the other completely focused on the task of wiping his face to lower his temperature down. Ichigo was sweating and Toshirou's face softened, caressing the cheeks that were slightly flushed from the fever. Ichigo didn't seem to be aware with what was going on and Toshirou was a little thankful for that because he was too close to him. They were too close to each other, Toshirou's body felt hot all over just being next to him.

"There's no helping it..." Toshirou told himself with a smile. He'll watch over the fevered boy for a while; when he gets better, then he'll go home.

Toshirou fell asleep next to Ichigo. It was 4:32pm. Toshirou didn't wake up until 12:11AM, when Ichigo stirred him awake.

* * *

Toshirou woke up feeling another body shift. He opened his stinging eyes, wanting to go back to sleep until he came up about with his senses that he was still not home. He stood up, took out the phone that was in his pocket and opened it to see that he had 7 missed calls from Rangiku and 2 from Hyourinmaru. Toshirou glanced at Ichigo; he was still sleeping. He placed a hand on his forehead to check his temperature and it has gone down. With a small smile, he walked towards the bathroom to call Rangiku.

_Toshi!_ Let out the woman's cry. _It's 12:30! Where are you?_

"Sorry Matsumoto. I'm at Kurosaki's house."

_Ichigo-kun? Why are you at his house?_

"I went to visit, but he has a fever so I stayed back to watch over him."

_Oh. _Rangiku snickered. _In that case, just sleepover! It's okay; Hyourinmaru, Haineko, and I got the house all taken care of._

"Nah. Kurosaki looks better now, so I can go home-"

_No! What if his fever comes back? Watch over him. If Ichigo is better in the morning, the come straight home!_

"I have an interview with him tomorrow!"

_Then isn't it better if you stay there? Maybe your interview's location might be in his... bed_.

A vein popped in his forehead. "Matsumoto!"

_Mah mah! Just stay there. I'll let Hyourinmaru know what happened. See you!_

"Matsu-"

The line was already dead. Toshirou turned after hearing Ichigo groan. He came out of the bathroom to see if Ichigo had awoken, but it seemed like he was just uncomfortable in his position. Was it better to just stay back? Toshirou decided that it was better off that way anyway and Rangiku _was_ right. If Ichigo were to interview him, it was better if he stayed. He could even convince the strawberry to move the interview since he's not feeling good.

_The location might be in his bed._

Toshirou sat down on Ichigo's bed and studied his face. Ichigo looked so peaceful sleeping and his eyebrows weren't furrowed like when he's awake. Whatever he felt towards Ichigo, it was strange. It was funny. It was unexplainable. He was so focused on staring at Ichigo's face that he jumped up when he felt another phone vibrate. Toshirou looked down to see Ichigo's cell glowing inside his short pockets. Quickly, Toshirou tried to reach the phone over Ichigo's body but he turned, grabbing on his waist and putting his legs over Toshirou like he was a body pillow. The whitehead struggled, trying to get out but it was useless.

He turned to meet Ichigo's face. His lips was just a few inches away from Ichigo's and he could feel his breath tickling his cheek. At that moment, Toshirou panicked mentally, his heart pounding irregularly like a drum gone off beat but he continued to stare at his lips. Toshirou felt drawn to the strawberry, and his eyes were slowly closing as well as his distance, and he was scared.

_Shit. I shouldn't do this. I shouldn't do this. This is wrong-_

But despite how asleep the carrot head was, Ichigo closed the gap between the two of them and pressed his lips against Toshirou's. Turquoise eyes widened, feeling as if the world has suddenly stopped around him. Toshirou could hear his heart pounding louder now and even though Ichigo was asleep, the kiss was real. Ichigo's lips were pressing his. It was sweet, but it was _wrong_.

Toshirou pulled away immediately, rubbing off the tingling sensation that was left on his lips, but Ichigo unconsciously pulled Toshirou's chin up and kissed him again, this time, the kiss was deeper and the other arm wrapped around became tighter that there was no way Toshirou could pull away. The small body was defenseless, and he began to feel dizzy with the kiss. Toshirou headed to admit it, but he really liked the feeling. He fought with his conscience for a while and Ichigo still hasn't released him but he was getting breathless and he knew he needed air soon.

His mouth was forced open with Ichigo's tongue. Toshirou shuddered at the wet tongue traced his lips and his eyes were now shut, trying to battle with the sleeping boy's tongue. Was he really asleep? Could it be that he's pretending to sleep and is actually doing this? The boy's thoughts came to a short circuit when a small moan escaped his lips. Toshirou froze, completely surprised that he could make such a sound and Ichigo stopped. Toshirou stared at him, but Ichigo's facial expression didn't change- it was still peaceful, and sleeping. His mouth started to open, and Toshirou's heart almost died until-

"Toshi..rou..." and his mouth closed, resuming back to snoring.

Well shit. Toshirou's head hung low, gasping and softly panting. The kiss took longer than he thought, but it wasn't the kiss or the time that's got him unfocused and messed up. The sleeping boy was completely unaware of what happened, and Toshirou indirectly blamed it on the damn fever. That wasn't the case, that wasn't why he was mad. He was mad because something unexpected happened. Something that he didn't think would happen in a long time.

Toshirou Hitsugaya clutched on his chest. _Stop heart, stop! He won't remember any of this. _

Then he fell back asleep to the sound of his oddly beating heart, drowning on his thoughts that were full what it felt like to kiss Ichigo Kurosaki's lips.

* * *

Short chapter. Have a good day/night, dear readers. ´Ｕ｀


	4. Earned It

Ichigo woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes then the sound of doors shutting and cars running then gone. It was cold in his room, awfully cold and the blanket wrapped around him didn't help suffice with the heat. The space next to him was a little warm, a sign that someone was there. Ichigo opened his eyes, only remembering that he asked Toshirou to stay the other night. He sat up, took a look around the room to see if there were any proofs that Toshirou stayed and there were; the empty bucket next to his lampshade and the now cold towel that was used for his fever.

"Toshirou?"

The strawberry walked down to the living room then the kitchen to look for the smaller one but he wasn't there. With the blanket wrapped around him, Ichigo hunched up on one the tall counter chairs and slouched, the smell of the blueberry remains. He turned his head and spotted a plate of blueberry pancakes next to the oven with coffee next to it. Ichigo walked over to it, moved the plate and found a small note.

"_Kurosaki._

_I took the privilege of cooking in your kitchen. If you're reading this, then that's good that must mean you're feeling a little better.  
Here, I made you blueberry pancakes since that was the only thing you have on top of your fridge. Are you sure you have servants?_

_Oh, and I decided to make you a cup of chocolate milk, it must be warm right now, so drink some first before you eat.  
It's good for you when you're sick; warms you up._

_You know what to do when you need me. I'll see you during the interview.  
But if you're not feeling well, don't hesitate to cancel. Prioritize your health over work at the moment._

_Hitsugaya._"

A small smile crept up the strawberry's face, opening up the cabinet and taking out a fork. He forgot to mention that he tells his servants to return home when he has nothing much to do. Ichigo was an organized person, so he didn't necessarily need a lot of people to run the house. Following Toshirou's instructions, Ichigo cuts the pancake and happily munched on the meal he had in front of him, thinking of how thankful he was and completely forgetting the fact that he was sick. After he finished his food, he shoved his hand in his pocket to take out his phone and dialed a number.

_Hello, this is Ichigo Kurosaki's office. This is secretary Orihime Inoue; how can I help you today?_

"Inoue!"

_Kurosaki-kun? Where are you?_

"Sorry, can you cover up for me and cancel all the meetings for today? I had a fever last night and I need some rest."

_Okay... but how about your interview with Hitsugaya-kun? Your schedule says you have an appointment with him at 12._

Ichigo couldn't wipe off the smile on his face. "Cancel that too. I'm hiring him on spot. No interviews necessary."

_E-Eh? But Kurosaki-kun... you should look over his work experiences and-_

"I'll look over it today since I'll be home. If you call him, tell him not to worry about it and that we'll send him his work schedule as soon as possible."

Inoue was suspicious but obeyed him regardless. _Y-Yes sir. Have a good day._

"You too, thanks Inoue~"

* * *

At Toshirou's home, Toshirou was back in his room looking for an appropriate outfit to wear for the interview that's about to happen in four hours. He didn't want to worry about it when the time gets closer, so he thought it was best to prepare in advance. There was a small knock on his door, and placed his vest and pants on the bed. "Come in."

"Bocchama."

Toshirou looked up, "Ah, Hyourinmaru. Did you make Matsumoto and Haineko breakfast?"

"Yes... I did. She told me you were with Ichigo-sama last night. How is he?"

"He's better," Toshirou replied, touching his lips then shook his head. "I made him pancakes. Hopefully he ate them."

His phone began to ring a couple of minutes after.

Toshirou answered the call, "This is Hitsugaya, speaking."

_Hitsugaya-kun! I'm Inoue, the one you handed your file to a couple of days ago. I just wanted to inform you three things._

"...Sure, what is it, Inoue-san?"

The woman chuckled on the other line. _Please, call me Orihime. Okay one: your interview is cancelled for today._

"Is Kurosaki still sick?"

_Actually, he sounded fine on the phone but he told me to postpone all of his appointments today. Second, Kurosaki-kun told me to tell you not to worry about _it.

Toshirou raised his brow in confusion. What's going on with the idiot?

_Third. We'll send you your work schedule as soon as possible. Your scrubs will be delivered to you._

"Wait... What? Work schedule? What about my interview?"

Orihime sounded just as confused when she responded, _there's no interview, Hitsugaya-kun. You're hired._

The whitehead was speechless. His mouth hung open and Hyourinmaru glanced at him with concern. Hyourinmaru walked close to listen in to the conversation then stepped back to give his master some privacy.

"Just like that?" Toshirou was still surprised.

_Just like that. That's all I came to call about. We'll contact you soon, Hitsugaya-kun. Goodbye!_

"I-I... yes... thank you Orihime... bye."

Hyourinmaru's masters' silence was far too long for him to comprehend or catch the hint of happiness in his eyes. Toshirou just stared into space, trying to let it process that he doesn't need to have an interview and that he's going to work soon. Is this a blessing in disguise? Hyourinmaru waved at the smaller one.

"Bocchama? You alright?"

Toshirou snapped back to reality and blinked a few times. "What? Oh yes, I'm fine. Apparently I don't need an interview and I'm working as soon as they send me the schedule."

Even Hyourinmaru was surprised. It didn't change how happy he was for his master though. "Congratulations bocchama."

But Toshirou was now left wondering what could possibly have happened to the strawberry for him to consider to pass the interview and send him straight to work? Toshirou will have to ask him later, but right now, he wanted to visit his mom and tell her the good news.

* * *

Toshirou placed three sunflower petals by his mother's gravestone and lit up an incense. He sat down on a mat and stared at his mother's engraved name, slightly putting a smile on his face.

"...Hahaue..." he started. "I still find it difficult for me to be here. I can believe you're no longer here with me but I can't believe that you died because of me... It's..."

He clenched his fists, held his breath, and held his tears back. "I left him; the guy that hurt you. When I get stronger, I will find a way to get revenge but now is not the time. I'm trying to put my life together without you. Hyourinmaru left with me and Rangiku remained by my side."

Toshirou can't stay at his mother's gravestone for another five minutes; he doesn't even think he could stay for more than two. He felt himself tremble against the mat, and his throat turned tight and cold all of a sudden. He could feel it coming- his tears. Whatever he had to tell his mother, he had to make it quick.

"I'm going to start working at a hospital soon, I know this is what you've always wanted for me when I was small. I found your diary and I've been holding on to it but..." He bit his lip. "It was in _his_ hands before I was able to retrieve it—and he crossed out names. I know you were trying to tell me to find someone and I greatly apologize that the bastard is making it twice as hard for me... but I promise one day I'll find them. Whoever they are. And if I'm logically correct... they should be out there looking for me for your sake."

He stood up and returned the mat where it originally belonged. With a bow, he whispered a soft 'I love you' before he exited the temple, refusing to take another look back to his mother's grave. It was still too painful for him to take. But there was comfort pressing on his lips, as Toshirou walked out, he touched them, traced them with his finger and thought of Ichigo and a small smile appeared on his lips.

Shirayumi Hitsugaya

* * *

_You sound sick,_ Rukia argued on the phone.

"Yes. That's why don't come over."

_You fool! I'm already outside your house, just open the damn door or I'll jump on your window!_

"Are you serious?!"

There was a knock that came from his bedroom window and Ichigo turned to see Rukia standing over the edge. Ichigo eyed her out in disbelief and made a face, only to have Rukia return the same look but with a glare. "Are you going to open the window or not!?"

"What the hell," Ichigo opened the window for her. "You're crazy."

Rukia hopped into his room and folded her arms. "Is it wrong for me to worry about my best friend?" She threw an orange bag to him and Ichigo caught it, opening it slowly and suspiciously. Rukia rolled her eyes, "I didn't put any traps in there, and they're fruits from nii-sama."

"From Byakuya?" Ichigo raised his brow. "What did the guy eat to do something nice like this?"

Rukia hit his head. "Dummy! I told him you were sick and he was kind enough to let me go out of the house."

"Yeah, I'm... surprised you didn't bring Renji with you."

"He had to stay back," Rukia shrugged. "Something about fulfilling nii-sama's desire."

Ichigo snickered and received a whack for that reaction. "Stop thinking dirty thoughts!" Rukia growled.

The strawberry grimaced. "I can't help it! They've been on the PDA wagon lately. Doesn't it disturb you?"

Rukia walked over to Ichigo's bed and sat down. She had a serious look on her face but in morphed into a caring and smiling expression spread all over her cheeks.

"At first it did cause I dated him but I got over it," she answered firmly, playing with her fingers. "I'm glad I was his first love. Nii-sama needed to move on from my sister too."

Feeling bad for his best friend, Ichigo sat next to her and ruffled her hair. It was one of his ways of expressing his love towards people he cared about and Rukia knew that well. She hugged him and closed her eyes. At least her level of friendship with Ichigo wouldn't falter.

"I'm sorry I'm gay."

Rukia snorted and elbowed Ichigo at his ribs. "I know that, stupid. Like I was going to do anything to you."

Ichigo laughed sarcastically. Ichigo wasn't exactly gay; his relationship had been with a girl he met at a conference somewhere in America. They talked for a while, video chatted, but it didn't make much for a difference over time because Ichigo got busy with work and he learned that long distance relationships wasn't his thing. He promised himself that the next person he finds would have to understand the responsibility that has been handed out to him.

So in that case, why doesn't just Ichigo hit on Rukia? Rukia's different. Ichigo and Rukia go way back to their childhood days. Rukia Kuchiki was different because she was raised in nobility- and ironically on her part, nobility within the infamous yakuza that goes by the last name Kuchiki. Yes, Rukia Kuchiki is the adopted sister of the notorious gang leader, Byakuya Kuchiki, which Ichigo has always thought was weird because the man doesn't do bad deeds. He shouldn't be a gang leader if he keeps saying, "I must obey the law." The strawberry thought it out loud when he was in his teens and ended up receiving a huge slap by Rukia, so he never dared raised up the subject.

But again, why not Rukia? Because Ichigo set himself into the zone where he's ought to protect her the way he must with his little sisters. Ichigo's family and the Kuchiki bloodline have become intertwined the moment Ichigo and Rukia grew closer and Byakuya was more than grateful to have Ichigo protect her in school especially when things get rough with his clients. Back to their school days, Rukia often got into fights because Ichigo and Renji were popular students in class until the two boys finally told everyone that they knew Rukia for a long time already. This decreased the amount of people, who bullied her, but it didn't stop; eventually Ichigo and Renji taught her how to fight, thus her aggressive side appearing toward the two boys often. She tries to hide it by smiling and saying sweet stuff. Another reason why he couldn't; Rukia and Renji dated. To Ichigo, things like dating friends' ex and stuff... is a big no.

"So what are your plans for today?"

Rukia stared at him, dumbfounded. "I was actually planning to stay here with you for the rest of the day..."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," she laid back on the bed. "I told you, I haven't seen you for ten days- today makes it twelve. Let me spend time with my best friend and plus-"

Ichigo stood up and walked over his desk to take out his laptop. He waited for a couple of seconds then turned, "plus what?"

"...Nii-sama wants to ask you for a favor."

The strawberry placed his hands in his hips, raising his brow. "And that is?"

"Can you join the group and protect me for a while?"

"A while? What kind of trouble your clients is doing this time?"

She began tracing circles on Ichigo's bed sheet. "The client apparently needed money to help his daughter with medical bills, but it turns out he's been using it for drug purchases."

"Oh shit, that's bad," Ichigo sat on his rolling chair and rolled over towards her. "I'm guessing people found out that the source of money came from Byakuya and now he wants the client to pay to clear his name but client has no money and now he's after you because you're Byakuya's precious little shi-"

Ichigo received another whack on his head.

"The hell was that for!?" He cried angrily, rubbing his head to make it better.

Rukia shrugged, "he's after me but I had no problem. I could fight back if I could but nii-sama's paranoid. So... can you?"

"Does it look like I can? I have work y'know. I need to start working on my assistant's schedule too."

"New assistant right? How was the interview with her?"

Ichigo sighed. He definitely hasn't seen Rukia in a while. "The new assistant's a guy. Name's Toshirou Hitsugaya."

"I see. So, what do you think of him?"

"He came over yesterday because I wasn't feeling well," Ichigo started to roll back to his desk to place his password on his laptop. "I knocked out on him because of a fever so he had to stay overnight to watch over me."

Rukia looked at him with eyes filled with worry, "you need to rest, Ichigo. It's not good to overwork yourself."

The man shrugged and began typing.

"I don't really have any other choice but to work. It's okay, I have Toshirou now."

"You caught yourself an eye candy hm?" Rukia snickered.

"...I don't think he's interested like that," Ichigo admitted. Although he was extremely interested in his new assistant, it did upset him; he knew that if he were to try anything with Toshirou, it wouldn't work out because he just met the guy. When they get to know each other better, maybe he'll take his chances when he sees an opportunity. In the meantime, he'll focus on work and helping Toshirou out. He wouldn't want to scare the boy away after all.

Ichigo touched his lips, the tingling sensation was there as though he had been kissed then added:

"He's just about to start working. If I hit on him, he might decide to leave and work at another hospital."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Ehe... So... I haven't exactly been on my laptop. I've been playing Latale and my thoughts on the story were jumping all over the place thanks to my boyfriend. But- here it is. Ichigo's going to get involved in a huge fight soon because of Rukia, and Toshirou's going to start working and his relationship with Ichigo gets better~ Wow!

\+ I don't know how things run in a hospital; why bother writing about it if you don't know? Well... I know the just of it, and this is kind of a fiction story for a reason right? Iunno. ^-^ Thank you for reading; I probably have typos because I did this at 2 in the morning heh. See you in the next chapter!

**Song on repeat as I write the story**_: "_Earned It" by_ The Weeknd_


	5. Typical Day Gone Wrong

Masaki had her eyes locked on the computer screen. Her husband remained asleep on their bed, the darkness engulfed her and her eyes glowed, clicking on the mouse several times in a matter of seconds. She's been typing for a while now; entering a few words then stroking the delete button on the keyboard then returned to typing again in the document.

_Send to all recipients_?

Holding her breath then letting a heavy one out and paused, hovering the mouse over the 'yes' button. Isshin shifted from his position, groaning over the vacant space next to him. His eyes slowly opened, catching the glim of light that shun through the computer screen. He sat up, scratched his head, rubbed his eyes and got out of bed, quietly making his way behind his wife to see what she's doing. Eyes widened in surprise.

"1210910 yen? (1)" Isshin gasped. "Masaki, what in the heavens are you doing?"

Masaki didn't jump; she simply faced her husband with determination. "It's easier this way, right? Our town is small, darling. He can't be that hard to find..."

Isshin sighed, rubbing her back, "that's the point. If he's not that hard to find, then keep looking. Using money is only gonna give you trouble."

"But-"

"Masaki." He bended over, kneeled on the ground to hold both of her hands. "You're highly known. If anyone were to find out that you're paying someone for finding her son, people will take advantage of you."

"I just sent it to my friends," Masaki urged. "Surely they won't do such a thing like that."

There was an intense silence between the two beloved. Masaki's eyes locked straight into his, pleading to let this go in high hopes that this would work out alright. Isshin couldn't resist whatsoever. Giving up, he nodded, kissing his wife's hand before he stood up. He reached over for the mouse and clicked 'yes' for her. The woman smiled slightly.

"Thank you," she mouthed.

"Under one condition," Isshin started, crossing his arms. "If someone tells you they know anything about her son's whereabouts, I'm tagging along. You're not going alone."

Masaki didn't disagree. She just looked back to the screen and prayed that things would work out in the end.

_Your message has been sent._

* * *

Karin yawned, exiting her first class. A few of her friends said goodbye to her and she waved as she headed to Yuzu's class. One of her guy friends approached her, grabbing her by the shoulder.

"Yo! Karin!"

"Toba?" Karin turned. "What's up?"

"My mom just called me. Your mom is looking for some Hitsugaru guy."

"Hitsugaru?" Karin raised her brow. "Who's that?"

"Beats me," her friend shrugged. "You should talk to her about it. She's asking me if I know somebody by that name."

"Oh. Okay. Well _do_ you know somebody by that name?"

"Nope. Not at all."

_Mom never told me anything_, Karin was upset. "What's the dude's full name anyway?"

The boy scrunched his nose. "Toshi Hitsugaru. Something like that."

And just like a light bulb, Karin's eyes grew wide. She smacked the guy's head. "It's Toshirou Hitsugaya, you block head!"

"How should I know!?" Ryohei cried, "I told you I don't know the guy! And if you knew, why didn't you tell your mom!?"

Karin grew quiet. "I didn't hear about it until you told me..."

"Was it supposed to be a secret then? Sorry, Kurosaki." He saluted and ran off to meet up with his other group of friends.

"How should I know?" Karin muttered, sliding Yuzu's classroom door open.

She needed to see her mom. Why was she looking for Toshirou? Curiosity was hitting her brain like a drum, so difficult to ignore. Whatever the reason was, it must be important. She'd have to tell her mom that she knew him right away; she decided to head home afterschool instead of visiting Ichigo at the office.

* * *

In one of the patient's rooms, Toshirou stood next to Ichigo who was trying to explain how their surgery went. Toshirou held the clipboard firmly in his hands, attentive to Ichigo's words and aware of the patient's expressions and reactions towards the information that was subjective to how the recovery process will take and such.

"You can eat solid foods now," Ichigo informed looking at his clipboard. "But we'll start with a small meal. You can eat crackers and drink water."

The patient nodded with a small smile on her face.

"No meat for now but soups should be alright too. Let's give it four to five days before you can eat a bigger meal."

"When will I be able to get out?"

Ichigo and Toshirou exchanged glances before they simultaneously flipped to the next page.

"Saka-san, we still need to continue your chemotherapy. Your resistance is excellent and if we keep it out like this, you'll be out in no time."

Her smile transformed to a painful frown.

"Your chemotherapy will go through minimize from ten cycles to five. You're doing good Saka-san-"

The patient began sobbing silently to herself. Her daughter was still asleep on the couch, and she kept herself from breaking down. Toshirou bit his lip in pain, walking over to the patient and rubbing her back in comfort. Saka brushed her fingers through her hair, trembling as a thick strand of hair wrapped around her fingers. A pang on their chest kept tugging on their conscience but they showed no signs of pain.

"Saka-san," Toshirou started. "You're doing well. Hang in there."

"T-Toshirou-chan," The woman tearfully cried. "My daughter brushed my hair this morning and she panicked when she saw... W-When she saw..."

Toshirou lamented, "Saka-san, you need to stay strong. When you're better, you can go back home to your family; with your daughter."

Saka knew that for a fact. "I can't stand her seeing me like this. Ichigo-kun when will I be able to get out?"

Ichigo put his hands in his pockets, closing his eyes. "In two to three months."

"T-That long? My daughter's been flunking in class, she refuses t-to go home to do her work a-and I can't-"

"I'll help her," Toshirou insisted, hoping to calm her down. "Outside work, I can be her tutor."

Saka cried in pure joy. "T-Thank you so much, Toshirou-chan. If that is the case, then I can rest easy. I'll stay and continue on with my chemo."

Ichigo glanced at Toshirou and smiled.

"And another thing Toshirou-chan, Ichigo-kun.."

The two boys looked at the patient with concern. Saka chuckled softly and shook her head.

Sorrowfully, Saka gulped loudly before she asked for her favor. She looked at Toshirou "Is it alright if... You cut my hair? I know... I know it's going to fall apart. I don't want my daughter to think about it too much."

"Don't worry, Saka-san," Ichigo reassured her, "We some time to do that, right, Toshirou?"

"It's Hitsugaya to you, Kurosaki-sensei."

The strawberry glowered before he walked out of the room to ask for a pair of sheers (2).

* * *

"Tadaima!" Karin and Yuzu entered the house together.

"Okaeri, Karin-dono, Yuzu-dono."

The Kurosaki sisters spun and ran towards their butler, pulling him into a tight hug. Zangetsu adjusted his glasses, returning their embrace, highly delighted by the sweet gesture.

"Zangetsu! Where have you been!? You've been gone for weeks!" Karin beamed.

"I learned a new recipe!" Yuzu grinned, "You've got to try it!"

"Alright, calm down little ones," Zangetsu patted their heads. "Change your clothes for now and I'll meet you in the kitchen."

Just before they headed upstairs to their rooms, Karin stopped midway of the staircase. "Oh yeah, Zangetsu?"

Zangetsu stopped his tracks on his way to the kitchen. "Yes, Karin-dono?"

"Where's mom and dad?"

"Ah. They had to meet up with someone; I believe they're meeting a Hitsugaya-san."

_So it _is_ Toshirou,_ Karin thought. "Thanks jii-san!"

"Now get moving, change your clothes."

* * *

Masaki Kurosaki's eyes widened at the sight in front of her. Isshin held her close to him.

The man in front of them smirked. He was quite the attractive man, his eyes was barely visible because the sunlight reflected on his eyeglasses and it was hard to tell how old he was because of his outfit; white pants and a black and white stripes with a golden watch on his left wrist. He was tall, almost the same height as Ichigo, his white hair seemed fluffy as snow despite the spiked edges and one strand hung on his forehead as his bangs. His expression was only stirring the Kurosaki couple in anger.

Masaki flushed pink, her eyes glowing with rage underneath her sunglasses, the urge of slapping the man flourished inside of her and Isshin held her back without a struggle.

His smirk turned into a sinister smile. Isshin scowled, holding his wife closer.

"It's been a while, Masaki." The man's deep voice was cold. "Now tell me, where are you hiding him?"

A deathly stare from Masaki was given. "I should be asking _you_ that."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He coolly brushed his white hair with his fingers.

"Y-You beast!" Masaki barked. "You didn't even feel any sympathy towards my friend! The nerve for you to appear in front of us; you're abominable!"

"Honey," Isshin warned. "Don't forget we're still in public, they'll recognize you."

Isshin was right. They stood at the entrance of a coffee shop but they were already attracting attention. The couple looked more of the bad guys, ganging up on the man in front of him. People were whispering towards their neighbors, inaudible hisses and nods were traded.

"Let's not do this here," she demanded flatly. "Inside."

"That's what I like about you, Masaki. Very mat-"

"Try to do anything to my wife; I won't hesitate to kill you."

Three of them entered the shop when the people around them halted their gossiping. When they walked in, Masaki and Isshin sat across the man. He crossed his legs and leaned on the backboard of the chair.

"I don't remember sending you an email."

"Ouch, was I not supposed to know that strangers are searching for my son?"

"How did you know about it?"

The man scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm messing with one of your friends, so I can get anything out of her if I wanted to."

Masaki gave him a look filled with menace. "You're a messed up father, you know that?"

"Don't say that. And I was just about to say I want to help in finding him. It's a small town you know- but if even I cannot find him, what makes you think _you_ can?"

"He's out there somewhere," Masaki argued darkly. "Maybe _you_ haven't found him because he's hiding from _you_."

"What's your purpose of meeting up with us?" Isshin went straight to the point. "We have better things to do with our time than to waste it on you, Toshiki."

"You guys have gone bitter since Shira left," the man laughed. "You obviously don't need my help."

"Obviously."

"Then I'll tell you this. If I find Toshirou first, I will take him far, far away; away from all of you," Toshiki glared, his brown eyes flaring with evil.

"Not if I can help it over my dead body," Masaki stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "I will find Toshirou, and believe me, _I will_."

"Good will always prevail, Toshiki. You don't deserve a child like Toshirou just as you didn't deserve a loving wife like Shirayumi," Isshin added on.

"Say what you want," The white-haired man smiled. "I wish the three of us good luck in finding him."

Toshiki exited the shop with a wave. It was suffocating inside; Masaki trembled, clinging unto her husband with pure agony. Her breathing became out of proportion and Isshin knew then that she was having an anxiety attack. Her eyes were wide, mixed with anger and fear. The man who just walked out of the coffee shop threatened to take the child she's been searching for years.

"We'll find him first, honey," Isshin kissed her forehead. "We'll find him first."

"I can't let him have Shiro, Isshin. I can't. He'll sell him off to another country for prostitution. I can't let that happen, I won't."

"Sh, shhhh..." He cooed. "It's okay."

"Toshiki Hitsugaya has to pay for what he did to his family. He _needs_ to."

* * *

Toshirou sneezed; stopping his process of sweeping the now cut hair of Saka. The woman chuckled, hanging unto her tube. "Bless you, Toshirou-chan."

"Thank you, Saka-san," the boy grinned. "Now, I have to go back to, Kurosaki. Do you need anything else?"

She shook her head. "Thank you dear, for helping me. You and Ichigo are both my angels."

With his hand on the door, Toshirou took one last look at the patient. "You have my cellphone number right? If your needs help with anything, please don't hesitate to call me."

Saka smiled, "I won't. Thank you."

"Welcome back Hitsugaya-kun!"

Toshirou entered the office and bowed at the waiting patients, walking towards Orihime's desk.

"Hi," He greeted, blinking in surprise. "Aren't you supposed to be at Kuro Center?"

"I usually work as his medical receptionist when he's here at the hospital so you and I will be working together," Orihime beamed.

"I look forward to working with you then, Orihime," Toshirou smiled.

"Let's eat together!" She took out a lunchbox. "I was experimenting last night because I thought 'hey I should have lunch with Hitsugaya-kun', so I made green tea with azuki bean and pepper pancakes! It's really good."

"Pepper? That- um... That sounds great" Toshirou laughed nervously.

"It is great!" Orihime answered innocently, tilting her head. "I haven't tried it yet; I was kind of hoping you and Kurosaki-kun would be my guinea pig~"

Toshirou mentally slapped himself and prayed to the Gods above that the rest of his day at work turns out all right.

* * *

The office hours have just ended and the patients were gone. Orihime had to rush home over because her pet had an appointment and she didn't want to be late for it. Now, it was just Toshirou and Ichigo left. They cleaned up in silence.

"Toshirou!"

The whitehead turned around with a small smile, "Kurosaki."

"What's wrong?"

Toshirou shook his head and handed some medical documents to Ichigo, "I'm just tired. Is there anything else you want me to do?"

Ichigo gently took the documents and removed his lab coat. "Actually I do."

"What is it?"

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

Toshirou was speechless. "I-ya-Iuh..."

The strawberry chuckled. "I understand if you have other things to do, Toshirou."

"N-No!" Toshirou pouted, it was barely visible but it was still there. "I mean... Sure. Let's."

Closing the lights and locking the doors, Ichigo and Toshirou headed to the parking garage where Ichigo's car was. Toshirou placed his bags at the back of the car along with Ichigo's belongings and sat at the front seat because Ichigo insisted.

"Where exactly are we going on a date, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo didn't start his car. "What time is it?"

Blinking, Toshirou opened his cellphone and answered, "4:19pm."

"Let's go eat something before I take you somewhere."

"...Should I be afraid about this _somewhere_?"

"You're not thinking of anything lewd are you, Toshirou?"

He flushed different shades of red. "O-Of course not."

Ichigo inserted the car key and started the engine. He grinned, placing both of his hands on the steering wheel, and headed out of the parking lot.

"Trust me on this. You're gonna love it."

* * *

"I still think holding one of the Kurosaki sisters as hostage is a bad idea."

"Who cares? We need the money."

"We're not gonna hurt them are we?"

"Relax. It's just a knife, we're just going to threaten her, get the money and go."

"Look, look! There's one of them now!"

"Why are they going out at a time like this? Isn't it dangerous?"

"Shut up! It's our chance to go grab one of them!"

Karin and Yuzu walked out of the gate, holding hands but Karin cursed. "Wait here Yuzu, I forgot my cellphone."

"Mmkay," Yuzu smiled sweetly.

Karin ran back inside the house. "Now's our chance!"

"You got the handkerchief ready?"

"Yeah man!"

"Okay, let's go go go!"

* * *

(1) 1210910 yen = $10,000 c:

(2) There's this whole argument about which is the correct term for hair thinning scissors. I know they're sheers, as my hairstylist calls it, but I searched it online and I'm not entirely sure now if it's _sheers_ or _shears_. Either way, I'm referring to a hair-cutting scissor.

**Author's Note**:I'm gonna note this so I don't forget: Toshiki is a pedophile and a sociopath. Ohoho.  
-yawn- This was not beta'd so I'm apologizing in advance for any grammar/spelling errors. I shall get back to it after my exam. Wish me luck!


	6. The Prince Doesn't Sleep

"KARIN!"

Masaki got out of the cab and ran towards the group of boys surrounding her daughter; one of them had a handkerchief, about to cover Yuzu's struggling face. The graceful woman that she is had disappeared, decking one of the boys that grabbed Yuzu by the neck with his arm, and slapping the other boy's arm to drop the handkerchief, letting Yuzu free and into her mother's arms. Yuzu was frightened, trembling against Masaki's chest but slowly calmed down when she heard her father's voice from behind.

Yuzu slumped to the ground and Masaki caught her frail body on time. Isshin tried to chase after the boys but unfortunately, his age cannot compare to the times of youth. He groaned in frustration and brought out his phone, calling to ask where their security was at a time like this. Karin rushed out of the gates when she saw her mother carrying Yuzu.

"Mom! What happened?" Karin cried, dropping next to her sister and caressing her face. "Are you okay Yuzu?"

The girl fluttered her eyes and slowly nodded, giving off a smile. "I'm okay. Mom came in the nick of time."

"There were these boys that tried taking your sister away," Masaki brushed Yuzu's bangs out of her face. "Yuzu, what were you doing outside? It gets dangerous during times like this."

"I'm sorry mom, Karin forgot her cellphone. I didn't think she'd take that long so I just waited for her outside."

"Where were you guys planning to go? You could've called for a cab."

"We're just going to Ichi-nii's place," Karin admitted. "We were supposed to sleep over but it never happened."

"Girls, even though you're just going to visit your brother, it doesn't mean you guys should go out in public without anyone looking after you. Something bad could have happened!"

Yuzu smiled slightly. "It's okay mom, the good thing is, nothing bad happened because you came to help. If it weren't for you guys coming home, I would have been taken away."

Karin crossed her arms, "Where did _you_ guys go anyway? Zangetsu came home saying you guys were looking for a Hitsugaya."

Masaki stiffened from her spot and Isshin approached her, patting her head and nodding. Karin stared at them seriously; it was time she told them.

"I know a Hitsugaya, mom."

"What? You do?"

"Yeah. I... I have a part-time job as an assistant coach and my boss is the soccer coach in Karakura High. Toshirou Hitsugaya."

Masaki's eyes widened. Could he really be the son of Yumi that she's been looking for?

Isshin crossed his arms. _Toshirou? Hitsugaya?_ He remembered the surgery and having Ichigo take him home to his house.

One can simply not miss the fact that sometimes the person you've been searching for has always been in front of you.

So why did they?

* * *

"Where _are_ we?"

Toshirou gaped as he entered cold room filled with ice-sculptures and blue glass-tiled floors. He looked at his reflection from the ground then up, amazed at the ice-sculpted chandelier lit up the room they were in. The temperature was freezing cold but Toshirou loved it, he had always loved the cold, much now that he's appreciating how cold it was in the room. Ichigo didn't seem to be bothered by the temperature because he entered the room with his casual clothes on. Toshirou was impressed.

Ichigo smiled sheepishly and sang, "_The cold never bothered me anyway_."

Toshirou rolled his eyes, "I've had enough of Frozen from the elementary school that I volunteered at. That song was _contagious_."

"Oh come on! It wasn't that bad, you just have to _let it go_~"

Disregarding Ichigo's usage of Frozen lines, Toshirou traced a sculpture of a woman that somehow resembled his mother, not that he remembered every single detail about her. The long dress she wore, a dragon mark on her right arm, her long hair, her sharp nose, and most of all—her smile. There was something about that smile that reminded him very much about his mother. Curious about it, Toshirou turns to Ichigo.

"Do you know who made these sculptures?"

"My mom had someone make them. These sculptures are all of us and her best friend."

Toshirou walked around the room, examining the pieces of sculptures that amazed him each time he passed each family member. From Karin, to Yuzu, to the man in which he assumed is Ichigo's father, the all known Masaki Kurosaki next to him, Ichigo, and a child. The child had an empty expression on their face. He looked like a child from higher status; his traced tuxedo, the book on his hand, his desolated eyes, his perfectly worn shoes and short spikey hair almost reminded him of...

Himself.

He felt like ten thousand bolts of electricity flowed like a current inside of him. Toshirou clutched on his chest, then his head with these voices playing and refuses to listen to them. Ichigo noticed the change in Toshirou's expression and wrapped his arms around him in comfort. His touch snaps Toshirou back to reality and his vision towards the child's sculpture became clearer to him once again.

"Who is that?"

Ichigo's smile turned into a sad one. "He's someone my mom's been searching for a long time. He's very important to her."

"Was he... one of your siblings?"

The strawberry shook his head, staring at the child sculpture as well. "He was my mom's best friend's son. When she died, my mom wanted to provide everything for him. I think she's planning on taking him in as family. I don't mind. From what I remember, I had a good childhood with him. I don't remember much because his father was very abusive and he would always get mad at his mom for taking him out. Damn, what was his name again—"

Ichigo seemed to struggle trying to remember the boy's name. Toshirou laughed softly, patting his shoulder. "It's alright. Don't stress too much on the name. I'm very sorry about your childhood friend though. I hope you find him soon; I know what it feels like to have an abusive father."

"Really?" Ichigo frowned. "Do you live with your father?"

Toshirou's eyes narrowed as he felt his throat grew thick. The saliva on his mouth almost seemed to refuse for him to answer that question.

He shook his head. Ichigo's face turned relieved. "Good. I wouldn't want you living with him anyway."

He let out a small smile before turning away from the child sculpture. "This place is at the outskirts of town, you guys must have a lot of money to be able to occupy this space huh?"

Ichigo shrugged. "We're not all that rich. This used to be my mother and her best friend's hide out. Her best friend used to love making sculptures."

_Same as my mom,_ Toshirou thought as he walked out of the room next to the carrot top.

Ichigo didn't want to keep Toshirou out much longer. After showing the ice-sculptures, he decided to take Toshirou home. Toshirou agreed, saying he was tired from work and he had to work on his senior project tomorrow so that he can work on Saturday with him. They talked for a bit, mentioning their likes and dislikes. Ichigo found out that Toshirou hated staying under the sun for too long and he was the opposite.

* * *

On their way home, Toshirou spotted a little girl with a broken mask on her head. She wore a green gown with gray shorts and her green hair was very messy but seemed aloof. The little girl sat in an Indian-style with her back against the wall and her right arm on the pole to support herself from tilting. Toshirou frowned when he caught a scar coming down from her forehead to her nose. He shook Ichigo to stop.

Ichigo stopped. "What's wrong?"

"That child—" Toshirou got out of the car and walked towards the little girl.

The little girl looked up at him in a daze.

"Hi, I'm Toshirou. Can I ask what you're doing out here, little one?"

"'So...Sushi..." Was what the little girl could say with attempting to say his name. Her hazel eyes grew wide, snapping her awake. "I need 'tsu find my bro'thurs!"

Toshirou frowned. "Did your brothers leave you?"

She shook her head. "I lef'ut them. I got mad so I lef'ut them. Now I don'th know where I am..."

"Don't worry, we'll find your brothers for you. What's your name?"

"N-Nel."

"Alright Nel, come, I'll help you find your brothers."

"What's going on?" Ichigo's voice came from the car. Nel and Toshirou turned to look at the orange head walking towards them. "An orphan?"

"Nel is no'th an orphan!" The child whined. "I have bro'thurs! BRO-'THURS!"

Ichigo apologized and kneeled down next to Toshirou, facing Nel. "It's getting kind of late, so why don't you come home with us?"

The little girl frowned, scooting away from the two boys in front of her. "M-My bro'thurs said tsu s'thay away from s'thrangers!"

"I'm not a stranger," Ichigo smiled sincerely, extending his hands. "I'm Ichigo, and you know the guy next to me."

"Itsygo.. and... and Sushi," she hesitantly took the strawberry's hand. Ichigo picked her up from the ground and carried her back to the car.

"Why did you leave your brothers?" Ichigo asked curiously. Nel only looked away with attitude.

"They're being jerks. That's why."

Toshirou frowned, "that's not very nice to say about your brothers."

Nel hummed at him, feeling regretful. "I know... Ith's Nel's fault because she jus wand'ed to find her parent'hs."

Ichigo passed her on to Toshirou, "have her sit on your lap. We don't have a child seat for her."

Toshirou obliged, taking her into his arms, entering the car and sitting her on his lap when they got on. Ichigo went to the drivers seat and started the engine.

"So what, to my house?"

After he patted Nel in apology for making her feel bad, he nodded. "My house isn't exactly an appropriate place for her to stay in."

The driver chuckled, starting the car once more. "My place it is."

* * *

"WHOA."

Nel came inside and circled the living room with excitement. Ichigo's house seemed surreal; Nel never thought that there would be a home that was almost as large as a castle and simple as a hotel. The couch was soft; Nel jumped on it and felt like she was buried in fluffy pillows. She snuggled with on of the couch pillows then sat up, forgetting her manners and got off when Ichigo closed the door from his house.

"S-Sorry," Nel said quietly. "I've never been in a house before."

Ichigo looked at her in surprise. "You've probably been in one, Nel. Just not in a house like mine, but... feel free to treat this as your new home."

Her eyes sparkled with life. "Really!?"

The strawberry smiled, Toshirou walked in to Nel happily running towards the kitchen.

"I still don't think you have servants," Toshirou argued.

"I don't _need_ servants. I'm never home anyway. Zangetsu came back too, so I'll be expecting him to come real soon."

"Zangetsu?"

"Yeah. He's our family butler."

Toshirou smiled warmly. "Just like Hyourinmaru then..."

Ichigo and Toshirou looked up at the ceiling when they heard running above them. Nel screeched as she reached Ichigo's room, her mouth opened in awe. She jumped on the king-sized bed, looked out the window, stared at the ceiling light, played with the lampshade, and then gasped when she saw his cabinet. _No way_. CLOTHES!

She ran towards the cabinet and opened it all the way, gasping and giggling each cloth she looked at. Nel looked through the drawers, saw Ichigo's collection of neckties, sunglasses, and watches from g-shock to Rolex. How amazing is this guy? Her hands wiggled when she reached for the last bottom right drawer.

What she saw utterly shocked her as her face turned bright pink. Ichigo walked into his room with Toshirou next to him and his face paled. Toshirou snorted. Nel wore Ichigo's boxers and brief over her head. The strawberry let out a strangling cry as he ran after the little girl who laughed, running away from him and getting chased after.

"Get back here you little brat!"

"Come get me Itsygo!" Nel laughed, sticking her tongue out.

Toshirou sighed apologetically to Ichigo indirectly. He watched the two of them chase after each other and sat down at the edge of Ichigo's bed, fatigue kicking in. He felt lightheaded; he massaged the temples of his forehead and decided to lie down. A few minutes after, Nel was lying down next to him.

"Are you okay Sushi?"

He nodded slowly. "Is Ichigo still chasing after you?"

Nel shook her head, "Itsygo hit his head on the wall."

Toshirou guffawed, holding on to his stomach as he laughed. Imagining Ichigo hitting his head because of a little girl was something he could not picture normally. Ichigo came back to the room with his own underwear over his head.

* * *

An argument came up about where Nel should sleep. The little girl refused to sleep on her own, her brothers often tucked her to bed or slept next to her, so Ichigo and Toshirou couldn't simply slip her into one of Ichigo's baggy white shirts, put a blanket over her, and say goodnight. Ichigo sighed softly; he has work tomorrow, continuing this argument any further would just stretch out his lost time on resting and he knew the same goes for Toshirou.

"Alright, you can sleep with me," Ichigo finally decided. "But you _can't_ pee on my bed, I'll kill you."

Nel grinned. "Of course I won'th Itsygo!"

Toshirou thought it was time for him to go home. He stood up, saying goodnight to both of them before heading out the door but stopped when Nel's whining returned and Ichigo's frustrated groan was buried under the pillow.

"You need to th'ell me a st'hory!"

"I don't know any stories," Ichigo grimaced. "I know Disney Fairytale stories."

Nel moved back, disgusted.

"Hey, in my defense, my mom told my little sisters that lots of Disney Fairytales."

"I don't like Disney Fairytales."

"Well your luck just ran out."

Toshirou walked back next to Nel. "Do you know the real story behind Disney's The Little Mermaid?"

Nel shook her head. "Littul mermaid became human and married the prince and lived happily ever after right?"

He moved the blanket up to cover Nel as she got comfortable on her position. Ichigo on the other side began to relax, looking at Toshirou apologetically and nodding before his eyes came to a close.

"Actually, Nel. That wasn't what happened," Toshirou smiled softly. "When she became human and lost her voice, she still hoped that the prince would marry her but she fails because the prince ends up marrying someone else."

"That's sho sad!" Nel frowned.

"But, the mermaid's sisters gave her a knife so she could kill the prince. If she kills the prince and his blood drops to her feet, she will become a mermaid again."

Nel gasped and Toshirou smiled sadly, patting her leg. "So one night, she stood in front of the prince's bed where he slept with a knife on her hand. She couldn't kill him. When the sun rose, she went back to the sea and she turned into foam. That was the real story."

The little girl was tearing up. It didn't affect Toshirou because he was old enough to understand that it was for love. Nel would come to understand that someday. He wiped her tears away and rubbed her leg in comfort.

"Shh..." He cooed. "My mom used to tell me a different story."

"R-Really? What did she say?"

"The night where the mermaid stood in front of the prince's bed, the prince woke up and asks her to kill him."

Nel's eyes widened; Ichigo's ears twitched.

"The prince said 'don't hesitate and please take my heart. Just think of me as a stranger and when the dawn lights up into the skies, it will be as if nothing happened. You will never turn into foam for my love is with you forever, so don't cry.'"

Ichigo might have had his eyes closed, but he was listening to the story telling. His eyebrows furrowed, remembering that the story he told was also a story his mother used to tell his little stories. It was a sad story indeed. Usually after the story ended, she would look at Ichigo and said, 'please be that prince, Ichigo. One who loves truly deeply.' When he was small, he refused to do it for some silly girl who would sacrifice her life to become a human and spend time with a prince who barely knew her. Does he think different now?

Nel's voice was happy again. "So she turns back into a mermaid?"

Toshirou smiled sadly. "Yeah."

"But the prince died... right? Why couldn't they both st'hay alive?"

"Sometimes, love isn't sugar coated, Nel," Toshirou explained quietly. "Sometimes love is painful. Sometimes you cry for it, hurt for it, becoming empty for it but it's still love. If you feel it here—on your chest—you look at someone and you feel something there. That's love."

"I feel something here! With you and Itsygo!"

The whitehead blinked, brushing Nel's green hair and tracing the scar on her forehead. He wondered what happened for her to deserve something like that but that shouldn't matter right now. The girl's eyes were fluttering to sleep, Toshirou reached for the lampshade and touched the main body so the light dimmed to darkness. Ichigo remained motionless, pretending to be asleep as he listened to Nel's quiet and steady breathing. Toshirou's sound of footsteps decreased, distancing himself away from the two.

"Goodnight," he heart Toshirou whisper before the door shut.

* * *

"Masaki can you please tell me why you're so angered with Toshiki?"

"Please stop calling him that, darling. That's not even his real name."

"How should I know what his real name is? Hell, I didn't even know that their child's name was Toshirou until this morning!"

"I don't have time to argue with you over this. Let's not."

"The least you can tell me is Toshiki's real name. You can't leave me in the shadows like this, not if I want to protect you."

"Toshiki's... Toshiki's real name is Aizen. Aizen Sousuke."


End file.
